Think Twice
by kerriganlkam
Summary: Pyro/OC. Kari has never had a normal life. Figuring people just hated her, she isolated herself, and she was fine with it, until her parents suspected her of being a mutant and she met John Allerdyce.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"She's very intelligent Jean, we just need to be patient."

"I can see that, but she doesn't seem focused enough."

"We can change that."

"Can we? She's hardly grasped the fact she's a mutant!"

"Will you at least _try_?"

Jean sighed. "Fine, I'll show her around, explain the rules."

"Very well. Tell her to grab her things. It's decided." The professor waited patiently as Jean walked outside. There was a girl lying sprawled out on the ground, listening to a small mp3 player tucked away in the pocket of her baggy green pants.

They had traveled to a house out in Arizona, after receiving a call about a 15-year-old girl, and the suspicion of mutant abilities. Professor Xavier and Jean Gray had discussed it with her parents. In blunt terms, they wanted to get rid of her…out of fear.

The girl, Kari by name, had simply ignored her parents' worries. Mutant. Ha. Her? Yeah right. All she did was listen to her music and lay around. That was hardly special. Maybe that was the problem. She had no friends. The whole neighborhood ignored her. No one ever talked to her.

Was that why they thought she was a mutant? Because she was antisocial? Whatever. Lots of people were antisocial. Are THEY all mutants? NO.

"Kari?" Jean asked with a smile. Kari opened one eye. Oh, it was the girl that came with the old man.

"What?" she sighed in monotone.

"Your parents, the professor, and I have discussed it, and we've decided to take you into our school. Is that okay with you?" Kari sat up and stared at her.

"So you all think I'm some kind of freak now? All because of some stupid accident in a science classroom?"

"Not completely. But we're hoping to figure it out, and hopefully we'll all understand what's happened." Jean explained. Kari stood up and started towards the house.

"Fine, whatever. From what I've heard my parents are dumping me anyway." Kari headed upstairs and Jean walked up to the professor with a sigh.

"Give her time, Jean." He insisted. Kari soon came downstairs with a black backpack, looking thin as though it were hardly packed with anything.

"Well, are we going?" she said with an impatient tone.

"Do you want to say goodbye to your family?" Jean asked.

"Yeah sure. BYE, MOM! BYE, DAD!" she called sarcastically, walking out the front door. Jean gave another glance at the professor, who simply smiled. He heartily followed Kari, with Jean behind him, her doubt growing larger and larger with every step.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? Her stubbornness could cause her to do something drastic." Jean said worriedly.

"Time Jean. Time and patience. It'll all work out, just wait." Professor Xavier smiled.

* * *

**Written By:** Kari Tryk 

**Based On:** The X-Men Movies

**Rating:** T - Language, Sexuality, and Graphic Violence

**Summary:** Kari has never had a normal life. Figuring people just hated her, she isolated herself, and she was fine with it, until her parents suspected her of being a mutant and she met John Allerdyce. Immediately sparking a rivalry between them, Kari is led through a lineup of complex events, and is forced to battle a new demon within her, in more ways than one, on several occasions. When Magneto creates a plan that could ultimately put the X-Men out of commision, they're drawn to the deadliest limits, and pushed to the highest stakes.

**Author's Note:** Hello, this is the author, of course. I just wanted to say a bit before you continue on, if you continue on, reading the endless chapters of this fanfiction. it's tedious, but at least I keep you all on the edge of your seats, that's my intent I know it seems rather cliche to add an original character into another's plotline, and also sometimes annoying, but I try not to make it as irritating as others. But, as a side note, I'd prefer not to be criticized on any plotlines that I myself create, or any "factual misrepresentations" you may find in your reading. I assure you right now, anything I write is intentional, some of the original X-Men plots have been left out purposefully, and I'm sorry if that bothers you. But on a further note, if you do find some type of grammar mistake or something, or if I've calculated some character's history wrong, I'd like to be informed, thank you. That was a long note, but please, if you wish to continue reading, do so, I can promise a LOT of cliffhangers, though. XP

**All Characters/Settings © MARVEL COMICS**

**"Kari/Foxfire" and "Crevan" and "Daren Richardson" © Kari Tryk**


	2. Our Kind

Part 1 – Our Kind

Kari stared at the hallways around her with one eyebrow cocked, sort of with sarcasm, sort of with disbelief.

"This way, please." Professor Xavier went through two double doors into a room Kari expected to be his office. As he went behind his desk, Kari noticed a slightly loud metallic clicking. It was rhythmic, and slightly echoing in the quiet. She turned and saw a boy, maybe 16, leaning against the wall by the doors, flicking the top of a Zippo lighter back and forth with a smug expression. He watched her with a strange gaze, not missing a beat with the pattern of the clicking.

"Ah, John." The professor smiled. The boy merely shifted his eyes a centimeter over Kari's shoulder to look at the man behind the desk.

"Acting up in class again, I suspect?" Professor Xavier asked. John shrugged, still flicking the lighter back and forth.

"This is the fourth time this week John."

Still no answer but the loud _click click_ emitting from his hand.

"Try not to do it again, please," the professor said with a smile.

Kari had been watching the lighter the whole time, the flame spouting every time John flicked the top open, then disappearing when his hand clicked it shut. For a moment, it seemed to go in slow motion. She watched the flame, the motion of the lighter, and John's hand simply running on a six-inch track to keep the rhythm going. His gaze fell back on her, staring at her as her fascinated eyes continued to lock onto his motion. For the first time, the clicking hesitated, and the lighter was stopped open as John paused. The tiny flame flickered in the still air of the room.

"That is all, John, you may go," Xavier said. The boy either didn't hear the professor, or he hesitated about whether he should leave or not. At last, he gave the lighter one final click and left. Kari watched him disappear as the door closed. The professor motioned for her to sit down. She finally did, tearing her eyes from the door.

"So." The professor gave her a warm smile.

"I'm not a mutant," Kari stated immediately.

"I know at first it can be hard to accept, but —"

"But nothing," Kari cut him off, "I'm not. You can't just jump to conclusions because of some freak accident! It wasn't even my fault!"

"I understand. But will you at least let me explain the school rules?"

"Sure." Kari said, sinking into her chair with a sigh. For another twenty or so minutes, the professor lectured her about the rules and purposes of the school. She nodded here and there, then he finally came to an end.

"Now, Jean is waiting outside the door, she'll take you to your room, okay?"

Kari nodded and grabbed her backpack, standing up and heading for the door.

"Any questions at all?" he asked.

Kari halted as she reached the door. She almost had half a mind to ask about the boy named John, but convinced herself it was a stupid and pointless idea, so she just shook her head.

"All right then. I'll see you soon." Professor Xavier gave her another smile before letting her depart to the hallway. Jean also greeted her with a smile and led her down a series of once empty hallways. They were now crowded with chattering and laughing students, some heading for their rooms, some looking for a place to hang out, others just wanting a place to fool around. Apparently class had ended. Kari did a double take when she swore she saw a girl walk _through_ Jean. Jean had only smiled and eventually came to a door. She opened it to reveal a large sized bedroom with three beds.

"Here's your room, you'll be sharing it with two other students."

"Lovely," Kari muttered. She picked the bed that didn't look occupied and dropped her backpack to the floor with a small _thump_.

"Today is Friday, so you'll have the weekend to get settled in. I'm sure you'll fit in pretty quick."

"Yeah right," Kari muttered again.

"Well, if you need anything, just ask for me or the professor. Good luck." Jean shut the door and disappeared.

"Good GOD." Kari flopped back onto the bed and immediately turned her mp3 player back on, sighing and shutting her eyes. Not a moment later, a girl with shoulder length hair came into the room…by walking through the wall. By this, Kari didn't notice her.

"Hi!" she said in a loud voice, making Kari scream and jump, startled.

"Sorry I scared you. I hardly ever use the door." The girl gave a small laugh.

"What — who are you?" Kari said, pressing the "Off" button on her music and sitting up.

"My name's Shadowcat, but call me Kitty." The girl gave her a bright smile. Kari seemed confused at her kind of perky mood.

"Sh-Shadowcat?" she repeated.

"Yeah. I bet you can sort of guess why, I can walk through solid objects. It's kind of fun sometimes."

Kari raised her eyebrow and then raised them both.

"Oh! You're the girl I saw in the hallway! You walked through Jean!" As strange as it sounded to Kari, she couldn't stop herself from saying it.

"Yeah. I get to my classes faster." Kitty laughed at her own joke. Kari gave a slightly uneasy laugh.

"I heard you just got in," Kitty said.

"Yeah —" Kari was cut off as another girl came into the room, opening the door gently, but making quite an entrance.

"Hey, Bobby and John are hanging out by the court. Wanna come?" she asked.

"Sure! Hey, can she come? That is, if you want to come." Kitty added, turning back to Kari.

"Uh — sure." Kari said with a small obligation.

"Great! Let's go." Kitty jumped off of Kari's bed and followed the other girl. Slightly overwhelmed, Kari followed them both through another series of hallways until they found an exit to behind the school.

There was a huge amount of land, with a playground and a basketball court. There was a small set of bleachers sort of lining the court. The girl, whose name Kari still didn't know, waved to a boy sitting at the top of the bleachers.

"Bobby!" she called.

"Hey!" He waved back.

"Here, let's go up to the top with them." The girl led them up the bleachers to where a boy with blonde hair and bright blue eyes was sitting, waiting for them.

"Who's she?" he asked, noticing Kari.

"Um —" Kitty started, realizing she hadn't asked Kari for her name.

"I'm Kari." Kari said after a long awkward pause.

"Aha. Well, I'm Bobby," the boy with the blue eyes said, "And this is Rogue." He pointed to the other girl next to Kitty. "And that's John."

Before he introduced John, Kari had noticed the metallic clicking again. Almost mentally smacking herself, her eyes flickered over to him. Of course. The boy with the lighter. He was leaning against the fence of the bleachers, his legs stretched out along the top bench. His only acknowledgement to her presence was the same glance and smug expression he had in the office. He said nothing when Bobby mentioned his name.

"So, you just got here?" Rogue asked. Kitty grabbed Kari's arm and sat her down, disrupting her stare at John. She was getting a bad vibe from that kid.

"Y-yeah." She said slowly, finally looking at the others. There was another long pause, in which only the metallic clicking of John's lighter was heard.

"John, knock it off." Bobby said. John gave him a nonplussed gaze, then flicked the lighter shut, shoving it into his pocket, along with both of his hands. He remained quiet as Bobby rolled his eyes.

"Are you just really antisocial?" Kari asked him, referring to the fact that the only times she had seen him he hadn't spoken a word. Given it was only twice, but to Kari it was a little suspicious to not say a single thing for practically an hour, unless you were asleep.

"Aren't you?" he answered with a voice that matched his expression. Kari stared, slightly taken aback. He took his lighter from his pocket and flicked it open, watching the flame with a bored gaze. He raised his eyebrows.

"So, where are you from, _Kari_?" he asked, making a sarcastic emphasis on her name.

"Arizona." She said, narrowing her eyes a little.

"So, what's your power?" Rogue asked. Kari gave her a half glare. She then looked away.

"I don't have one," she said flatly. They all raised an eyebrow, except John, who remained in his nonplussed mood. "I'm not a mutant."

"Then what are you doing here?" Bobby asked.

"My parents dumped me here," Kari answered, seemingly irritated.

"Why?" Rogue asked.

"There was just this — look, I don't want to talk about it." Kari said in an almost threatening tone.

"Okay, sorry." Bobby waved a hand and dismissed the subject.

"And she calls _me_ antisocial," John snorted, still staring at his lighter.

"Shut up," Kari snapped. John flicked the lighter shut and gave her a stern glance all within a second.

"Hey, I'm hungry, is anyone else hungry?" Kitty said quickly, trying to change the subject.

"Sure," Bobby agreed, "Let's go inside and grab some food."

"Come on, we'll show you the kitchen!" Kitty said heartily, tugging the sleeve of Kari's white over shirt. Everyone stood up and headed back inside, all except for John, who went back to his lighter clicking, watching them stride away with a bored look.


	3. Revealing Fear

Part 2 – Revealing Fear

Nearly two months later, it was like Kari had been there the whole time. She had made a few friends, and several enemies. Mostly consisting of John.

Kari still labeled him as an antisocial, narcissistic jerk. The reason was, he liked to show off a lot. Understandable. But because of the rules at school, all he could do was toss fire between his hands. Even then, it was a tiny flame, and he normally just did it when he was bored. No on ever seriously used their powers. He was full of himself, Kari thought. He wasn't as antisocial as she thought, just normally around certain people.

Like her.

He just made insulting comments about her. But when he was showing off, he talked a lot. He was mainly friends with Bobby. They were pretty close. Subconsciously, Kari wondered how Bobby could stand him.

Kari's main group of friends consisted of Rogue, Kitty, and Bobby. John just followed Bobby around, so she was kind of stuck with him all the time. But, nonetheless, she was happy there.

She was still lazy, and only really liked to listen to her music. But when needed, she worked hard, and she loved to hang out with her friends, even if it was only sitting and watching their mouths move, but their voices drowned out by her music. It was a strange feeling, having friends. Back at home, since everyone thought she was a mutant, they all ignored her. Or more like, ran from her, scared she would attack them or something.

As for actually being a mutant, she still denied it. There was no proof of any mutant power in her, which got her picked on a lot. Other students would tease her, call her a human, and say she didn't belong there. Most of the time she ignored them. But when the case got serious, she would tell them off. She had a knack for using big words, which either confused them, or made them try to show off to prove her wrong. Normally, they would just get angry and storm off fuming. Kitty sometimes joked that Kari's mutant power was "the ability to piss people off by intelligently insulting them".

"Sounds about right," Kari had agreed.

Of course, everyone knew that the only person's vocabulary that could compete with hers was John's. This was the main reason that most of their fights were verbal and not physical. Kari wasn't the least bit afraid of him, he just irritated her. And one particular day, he nearly pushed her over the edge.

It was a Friday, and they were all up at the top of the bleachers like usual. Bobby and Rogue were sitting on the second step, Kari was on the third, leaning against the fence and listening to her music on a low volume so she could still hear her friends' chatter. Kitty was sitting on the second step above her, and Mr. "Big Shot" Allerdyce was sitting in his usual position. Leaning against the fence with his legs stretched out on the seat, flicking his lighter back and forth.

"Does anyone else think that news reporter on channel six is REALLY weird looking?" Kitty said after pause.

"Yeah, because he looks like Kari," John snickered.

"John, don't start," Bobby warned.

"It's true. She does look like a guy, has anyone ever told you that?" he added, making a sideways glance at her.

"That's it."

Kari sprung from her seat and leapt for John. Kitty held her waist as she flailed in attempt to reach him. He just laughed and she gave him a death glare.

"THAT'S IT, ALLERDYCE! ONE OF THESE DAYS YOU'RE DEAD!" she yelled.

"Not before you," he said casually.

"John, cut it out," Rogue said with narrowed eyes.

"Tell her to quite bragging," John said with a shrug.

"ME? Oh that's it, man, you're going DOWN!" Kari started flailing again as Kitty sighed and tried to push her back into her seat. Eventually, after another sixty-second struggle, Kitty calmed her down and got her to sit. John shook his head mockingly with a tiny smile and kept staring at his lighter as he clicked it back and forth.

"Why are you such an ass?" Bobby asked, shaking his head at John.

"You tell me," he answered.

"Oh, good point. How can some one so ridiculously stupid NOT be an ass?" Kari said matter-of-factly, crossing her arms.

"Say that one more time, I dare you." John gave her a sideways glare. Kari turned until her whole body was facing him. She fixed her eyes on his.

"You're — a — ridiculously — stupid — ass." She said in a slow threatening tone.

This time it was John who jumped. He went clear over Kitty and grabbed Kari by the shoulders.

"JOHN!" Bobby screamed. The two managed to roll down the bleachers a few feet and stop in between two seats.

"GET OFF ME!" Kari yelled.

"John, leave her alone!" Kitty demanded. The other three rushed for them. John had his eyes fixed on hers, giving the angriest glare Kari had ever seen.

"How many times am I going to have to kill you?" he growled.

"You haven't yet," Kari answered. To everyone's surprise she was completely calm.

"I can change that."

"I dare you to."

"What's going on up there?" asked a voice. Kari felt John jump and look down on the ground at the bottom of the bleachers. Storm was standing there.

"Nothing, they just tripped," Bobby said quickly.

"All right. Stay out of trouble." Storm gave them a suspicious look, then turned and started walking away.

"Get off of me."

John looked back down at Kari. For the first time in her life, Kari saw panic in his eyes. This was probably because of the look he saw in her eyes. They almost had an evil tone to them. Her eyes were narrowed, and she looked absolutely serious.

"NOW," she demanded. Bobby grabbed onto the back of John's shirt and pulled him up. He kept staring at Kari's eyes. When she stood up, she had her back facing them, and when she turned around, she was completely fine.

"What?" she asked, noticing John's stare.

"John, are you okay?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah," John answered quickly, "Let's go inside, it's getting dark."

Completely suspicious about his motives, Kari watched him walk down the bleachers with Bobby and Rogue.

"You all right? You took a pretty bad fall." Kitty gave Kari smile and she nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. He's just a jerk."

They shook their heads and headed after the others.

After eating a few snacks and reaching their room, it was almost 8:30. The three girls said goodbye to Bobby and John (well, Kitty and Rogue did) and shut the door. John kept his eyes on the door until they turned a corner.

"That jerk. I hate him." Kari glared at the floor as she kicked off her shoes.

"Most people do, he's a show off, just ignore him." Kitty pulled back her blankets and headed to the closet for her pajamas.

"Kind of hard when he follows us around, " Kari said.

"He's Bobby's friend. I don't mind him that much, he's just annoying sometimes." Rogue pulled on a nightgown and sat on her bed.

"SOMETIMES?" Kari repeated, giving her friend a skeptical eye.

"She's got a point," Kitty said to Rogue.

"And why was he looking at me like that?" Kari wondered aloud.

"Maybe he was actually scared you would hit him?" she suggested.

"He was on top of me, Kitty," Kari said blatantly. Rogue and Kitty cracked small smiles.

"Oh, you guys are sick, shut up." Kari threw a pillow at Rogue and they all laughed.

"But seriously, he couldn't be scared of me, I mean, I have no powers remember?"

"Minus your 'ability to piss off people by intelligently insulting them'," Kitty added.

"Of course," Kari agreed with a smile.

"Well, _I_ didn't see anything about you that was frightening. Maybe he finally realized he was being stupid." Rogue tossed Kari her pillow and leaned back onto her own, yawning.

"I hope. It would be a miracle." Kari caught the pillow and set it at the head of her bed.

* * *

"I'm not joking, man, I saw them. They changed! She _is_ a mutant!" John exclaimed honestly. 

"John, you heard what she said, even the _teachers_ don't think she's a mutant." Bobby was sitting cross-legged on his bed, which was to the left of John's.

"You have to believe me! I know I saw them change! She looked…evil." He said the last word with in undertone, almost.

"She was probably pissed because you knocked her down," Bobby said in Kari's same matter-of-fact tone.

"I know _that_, but I mean, she almost looked like she was going to hit me."

"DUH!" Bobby said loudly.

"I can't explain anything to you, can I?" John asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Look, if she is a mutant, which for now, she still ISN'T," Bobby added, "She would have told us!"

"Maybe she still doesn't know. Maybe we should ask Professor Xavier." John leaned back on his hands.

"You do whatever you want, but I'm telling you, you didn't see _anything_. You were panicking because you got caught, that's all."

"Maybe…" John stared at the lighter in his hand. He flicked the top open and watched the flame flicker every time he exhaled.

"John, go to bed." Bobby slid under his blankets and rolled over so his back was facing John.

"Yeah, fine," John shrugged. He clicked his lighter shut loudly, almost so loud that Bobby jumped slightly. Not even bothering to pull up his blankets, John lay down on his back and stared at the ceiling. He turned off the light and flicked open his lighter again, staring at it with curiosity.


	4. Unwanted

Part 3 - Unwanted

"Mr. President, I don't think you realize the threat these creatures pose."

"Now, you listen to me. I've told you no. I'm not authorizing any termination of any kind. It's bad for the public!"

"They're worse for it alive!"

Daren Richardson stood with his hands slammed down on the desk of the president.

"Have you not heard the reports? Riots! Attacks! Assassination attempts! These mutants aren't looking for peace with us; they're trying to EXTERMINATE us! If we don't act quickly, we'll be the dead ones!"

The president breathed slowly through his nose and stared up at the man.

"Do you understand that by killing the mutants, you're destroying half the population of this country?" he asked finally. Daren laughed and stood up straight.

"Mr. President," he started, and after a pause added, "If we don't destroy them, there won't be a population at ALL."

"And where do you propose we start, Mr. Richardson?" the president asked sternly. Daren pulled up his briefcase and snapped it open. He pulled out several papers and scattered them in front of the president.

"This is a school founded by a man named Charles Xavier."

The president raised his eyebrows is disdain, staring at the papers. He finally looked up, leaning back in his seat.

"It's a school for mutants," Daren said, a slight sinister tone to his voice. The president kept the same expression as Daren watched him.

"If these children are raised into adulthood, and with the growing threat of mutant attacks, we could be at the start of a war," Daren explained quietly. At this word, the president shifted. "They could be planning an attack here. An assassination, possibly! We can't take that risk!"

"But it's not LOGICAL!" the president retorted.

"Not LOGICAL? Sir, we're talking about preventing a WAR! A possible WORLD WAR! America isn't the only country with mutants."

"I'm well aware of that," the president snapped. They had a small battle of glares until finally the president leaned back in his chair again and sighed.

"Give me 24 hours, I'll call you in the morning."

Daren Richardson smiled and gathered his files from the president's desk.

"Good day, sir," he said with a smile. He walked from the president's office and back to his car with a triumphant grin.

* * *

"Thank you. You may go." 

Professor Xavier dismissed the boy, who walked out with a serious and confused look on his face.

"Jean?" Xavier called.

"Yes?" Jean walked into the office.

"Go find Kari, would you?"

"Sure." Jean walked back out and the professor looked out of the window in his office. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and took a long deep breath.

* * *

"Hey, have you guys seen John lately?" Bobby asked. Him and the three girls were sitting in the kitchen sipping sodas. 

"Not since this morning, why?" Kitty asked, lifting her drink.

"Maybe he died," Kari said hopefully with a smile.

"Hey guys." John came up behind Kari, making her jump and fall out of her chair. Kitty helped her up. As she sat in her chair she gave John a sideways glare.

"Hey man, where have you been?" Bobby asked.

"Around," John answered with a shrug. He went to the refrigerator and grabbed a soda, sitting on Bobby's right. Not a moment after he had sat down, Jean came into the kitchen.

"Kari, the professor wants to see you," she said. John choked on some soda and coughed. Bobby gave him a curious stare.

"You okay, man?" he asked, laughing at his friend's stupidity.

"Yeah, I'm fine." John cleared his throat and took a deep breath. Kari shrugged and stood up.

"Watch my drink, okay?" she said to Kitty. Her friend nodded and she followed Jean out of the kitchen.

"What was that all about?" Rogue asked, referring to both Kari and John.

"I don't know," John said quietly, taking another drink. The others suspiciously glanced at him while he drank his soda and stared at the counter.

* * *

"Ah, Kari, come in, please, sit." The professor smiled and Jean shut the door. 

"You wanted to see me?" she asked.

"Yes, I'd like to talk to you about yesterday." The professor nodded.

"Yesterday?" Kari repeated.

"Yes, I understand there was a little incident by the basketball court," he added.

"Is this about John? Did he snitch or something? Whatever he said about it, don't believe him. He probably tried to blame the whole thing on me. I'll KILL him." Kari narrowed her eyes and said the last part to herself.

"You're not in any sort of trouble, if that's what you mean. I'd just like to ask you a couple of questions. I spoke with John just now. He's concerned about what happened yesterday."

"Concerned?" Kari repeated with a tone of disbelief. She raised an eyebrow and Professor Xavier nodded.

"Have you experienced anything strange lately?" he asked.

"Other than the urge to dismember John, no. Actually that's quite normal, now that I think about it." she added, looking up thoughtfully.

"Very amusing. But I'm curious, are you sure you haven't experienced any unusual behavior?"

"Not since yesterday when John tackled me," Kari answered. The professor gave a small "hm" in response.

"And what happened then?" he asked.

"I just got really mad," she said with a shrug, "But that's normal right? He made me mad."

"Yes, yes. All right. Well, I guess that is all I needed to know, you can leave now. Thank you for talking with me."

"Sure." Kari stood up and walked out of the room, totally confused, but content. She came back to the others a few minutes later.

"What did he want?" Kitty asked.

"He just wanted to talk about yesterday," Kari answered sitting down and taking a swig of her soda, which was now kind of warm from her absence. John watched her with an unusual interest.

"Yesterday?" Rogue repeated.

"Apparently some one snitched on me." Kari gave John a glare. He looked at the ceiling, pretending not to notice.

"JOHN," she said in a half accusing tone.

"I didn't say anything," he retorted.

"You little liar!" she snapped back.

"ME?"

"Yeah, you! You're such a baby, telling on me. God, you're like a child." She made a small "pfft" noise and she could tell he was getting annoyed.

"Guys," Rogue begged, "Not now, come on.

"Yeah," Kitty added, "I'm tired."

Kari rolled her eyes. Then she grumbled, "Jerk."

"Okay, fine, you know what? Let's take this outside." John stood up.

"Oh, really?" Kari said with a small laugh.

"Get up, outside. Now." He demanded.

"Fine." Kari set her drink down with a loud _thunk_ and followed John down the hallway towards the exit to the back.

"You are SO arrogant, you know that?" Kari said as they walked.

"Me, arrogant? Look who's talking, Ms. 'I act smart and use big words to insult people.'"

"Oh, is that your problem? You can't understand what I'm saying because it's too complex? Oh, I'm REAL sorry. Get a brain." They reached the door and they both stormed over to the basketball court.

"I'm tired of you talking crap about me all the time!" John yelled.

"Well, same to you!" Kari argued.

"The next time you decide to speak your mind, don't. It would help some of us sleep at night, all right?"

"Oho," Kari said with a laugh, "My words are SCARING you now?"

"I'd like a little respect from you, at least. You drive me insane with your stupid 'vocabulary' and you're always looking for a way to piss me off!" he yelled.

"Now, that was a little hypocritical, don't you think?" Kari snapped.

"When are you ever going to leave me ALONE!"

"When are you going to stop being Mr. Big Shot all the time? Why don't you let go of your stupid EGO for once and just be YOURSELF?" Kari screamed at him. He stared at her.

"What?"

"You! You're always trying to show off and impress people! It only irritates them and they think you're a narcissistic jerk! When are you ever going to be yourself and quit being some one you're not?"

He continued to stare at her until he slightly narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, you're one to talk," he said finally, "Look at you! You're nothing like me. Who are you to tell me what to do? At least I BELONG here. So quit acting like you know everything. Quit acting like you know _me_."

He turned and left her standing there on the basketball court. She watched him disappear back inside and slam the door shut. She felt anger building up inside and she turned to sit on the bleachers. As she sat down, she glared at the ground with fury. She sighed angrily and looked at the sky. Overcast. It had been for the past few days. She sighed and kicked a small rock with her shoe. Hardly two months at the school and she's already lost a friend. If you could call John a friend. She took a deep breath and continued to sit there, pondering. She mulled things over in her head for a while.

Maybe he was right. Was she acting like she knew everything? Did she really know him? She ran her hands through her hair and let them drop back between her knees. She heard a rumble overhead and looked up. A tiny water droplet splattered onto her nose.

"Oh, that's perfect." She stood up and headed for the door across the grounds. She noticed a few other kids heading inside. She saw two boys standing on the other end of the court, talking amongst themselves. She ignored them. They started walking towards her when she stopped. She turned to look at them. They exchanged glances and tiny smiles.

"Hey, you're that new girl, right?" one of them said.

"Yeah, so what?" she answered sternly.

"The one with no powers?" the other one said with a small laugh.

"Get away from me," she snapped, walking away.

"Hey," the first one said with a small, irritated tone.

"We didn't say you could leave," the second said, grabbing her shirt.

"What are you doing here, anyway? You don't belong here, you're not even a mutant."

"Maybe I'm just smarter than you," Kari answered with a calm stare. The first boy narrowed his eyes and grabbed the collar of her shirt with both fists.

"What'd you say?" he growled.

"Let go of me," she demanded.

"Yeah, what are you going to do about it?" the second one sneered.

"Well, given your current position and your lack of an attention span, and serious misuse of strategy, I'd you forgot to grab my legs," Kari answered. She kicked the one holding her roughly in the stomach. He doubled over and she turned to run. She saw a shadow under her and then the second one was standing an inch from her face.

"And given _your _current position, I'd say you forgot the fact _we're_ actually mutants." He grabbed her by the shirt just as the other had done. The one behind her came up behind his partner and gave her a glare.

"You'll be sorry for that," he threatened.

"I'd say that's an opinion, not a fact," Kari stated.

"Well, here's a fact for you —" the one holding her said as he kicked her and she flew backwards about five feet, slamming into the ground, "— that hurt."

Kari rolled onto her side and felt a strong arm pull her to her feet. She looked up just in time to feel a fist collide with her left eye. She doubled over and felt another punch in her stomach, sending her flying back again into the asphalt of the basketball court. She felt her anger rising again.

"Can't be smart if you're dead," one of the boys snickered.

Another ten minutes of this happened, until she was soaked in the rain, lying curled up on her side, feeling completely nauseous from the assault of punches to her stomach. When the nausea started fading, it was replaced by rage. She looked over the top of her arms that were covering her face and saw the two boys closing in. She shut her eyes. Now matter how angry she was, she couldn't stand.

She felt the arms pick her up once again and she snapped open her eyes. She was about to strike when she saw a pair of friendly blue eyes looking back at her. They seemed unfamiliar at first, and she was almost tempted to attack when she heard her name.

"Are you all right?" the same voice said. It was Bobby. Rogue and Kitty came running over. The two boys had disappeared.

"It's okay, they're gone. Are you okay?"

The voices were echoing now. Kari's anger began subsiding, and once it did, the nausea came back in a tidal wave. She lurched to the side and vomited.


	5. Authorization

Part 4 - Authorization

Ten minutes later, Kari was sitting, hunched over, on the counter in the kitchen. Kitty, Rogue, and Bobby were helping her clean herself up. Kitty was in the process of wiping rivers of blood from under her lip. The voices she was hearing were still slightly distorted and echoing. Her vision was slightly blurry, and she was beginning to wonder if she was in a dream. Among the slightly blurry figures, she saw another enter the room with wide bewildered eyes.

"Jesus Christ, what happened?" She didn't know the voice, or the person. She recognized nothing at this point.

"Some boys got her out on the basketball court," Bobby answered.

"She's completely soaked and she can hardly stand," Kitty added, wiping the last bit of blood from Kari's chin.

"Well, that's the best I can do from here. You guys take her to your room and get her cleaned up more. And get her to bed, she needs to sleep." Bobby motioned for them to leave.

"Okay." Kitty and Rogue slowly helped Kari off the counter and balanced her. They each took an arm over their shoulders and led her out of the kitchen. After a slow journey down the many hallways, they made it to their bedroom and set Kari onto her bed. She simply slouched over like she had done on the counter.

"Kari, can you hear me?" Kitty said, looking down at her. Kari made no response.

"Crap," Rogue sighed.

"Well, let's get her into her pajamas. Grab the first aid kit in the bathroom." Kitty grabbed Kari's hand and slowly started taking her shirt off. She grabbed her pajamas and after about fifteen minutes, Kari was lying in bed with several bandages and a severe headache.

"Should we get the professor?" Rogue asked.

"Right now, we need to get her some ice," Kitty answered.

"Right." They both left the room. Kari heard light voices outside the door, almost an argument. She heard the words "no" and "against the rules" along with "girls' room". She felt her head give a painful throb and she moaned. Her throat was dry and her body ached. There was a loud "FINE" from outside and some one came into the room. Kari blinked a few times and her vision came into focus.

"John?" she said in a whisper.

"Unexpected, huh?" he said with a small smile. He stood by her bed with his hands in his pockets. "I know you really can't talk right now, but I just wanted to say that…I'm sorry."

Kari's newfound skepticism came in, and she squinted her eyes as a throb came to her head again.

"Nice timing on your part," she said in a slow quiet voice.

"Yeah." He gave an uncomfortable smile. To distract himself, he pulled out his lighter and started fidgeting with it. Surprisingly, he didn't flick the top back and forth like usual. He just sort of played with it.

"Look, I don't want to argue with you anymore," he started.

"That's new," Kari replied quietly.

"You were right, I was acting up, and I'm sorry, but I want YOU to understand that you DON'T know me, and to quite acting like you do. All right? Just…don't act like a know-it-all."

"Very reassuring, thanks," she replied. He sat down on the bed and looked at her.

"I'm serious. No more assuming you know everything. And I won't show off. Okay?" he stared at her through a pause.

"Sure." She winced as her body started throbbing along with her head.

"Okay. I'll see you later." John stood up and walked out of the room. Kari took a slow deep breath, taking heed of her injuries. A moment later, Kitty and Rogue came back in with ice.

"Here." Kitty put the ice pack on her head. Kari sighed.

"It'll be a rough night, but just try to rest."

Even though it was only six o' clock, Kari fell asleep pretty fast, and woke up around ten the next morning. She woke up to Kitty putting a fresh ice pack on her head. She moaned and Kitty pulled her hand back like she had burnt it.

"You're awake!" she exclaimed.

"And you're observant," Kari replied with a dry throat.

"Ever the skeptic," Kitty added.

"You look terrible," Rogue said. She was getting her a glass of water.

"Not surprising," Kari agreed. Her body was almost stiff from pain.

"We talked to the professor, and he caught the boys that did it. He said he'd take care of it. He said they were lucky we chased them away." Rogue shrugged the confusion of the statement away and handed Kari the glass. She slowly raised her arm and took a drink. It was cool, and soothed her throat.

"He also said that if you're not feeling better tomorrow, you can stay from class," Kitty added.

"Always a good bonus," Kari joked.

"Well," Rogue said, getting back up, "I have to meet Bobby."

"I bet," Kari murmured.

"Quiet, you. I'll see you two later." Rogue headed out of the room and Kitty flopped onto her on bed and picked up a book as Kari shut her eyes and took a nap for the next two hours.

* * *

"Yes, thank you very much Mr. President." 

Daren Richardson hung up the phone and grinned.

"Well?" his assistant asked.

"The plan is effective immediately," Daren answered.

"I'll contact the colonel, and we'll set into position. We'll be ready by tomorrow night." His assistant walked out of the room and Daren looked at the pictures laid out on his desk.

"Ready when you are, Mr. Charles," he snickered.

* * *

The next morning most of Kari's cuts had healed and she was able to walk around. Well, meaning she could walk to the bathroom and that was about it. She was reading a book around five o' clock when she noticed a small gleam from the light. Raising an eyebrow, she lowered her book and looked at the foot of her bed. It was John's lighter. Had he left it there by accident? She bent forward and picked it up. She stared at it and then jumped when Kitty walked through the wall into the room. She shoved the lighter into her pocket and Kitty gave her a smile. 

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Better than before," Kari said with a smile.

"Good." Kitty sat down on her bed and picked up her usual book. Kari hid behind her own and yawned.

Around nine o' clock that night, everyone was in bed and Kari was trying to get to sleep. She was pondering about things the boys had said to her, and her argument with John, and then the conversation they had in the room. Maybe she didn't know him all that well. Maybe he was right in telling her not to assume things. But she knew _she_ was right about him needing to not show off. She snickered to herself and sighed. She shut her eyes and slowly started drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Kari woke up around midnight with a terrible headache that persuaded her to get out of bed. She slowly walked down the hallway into the kitchen and made up an ice pack. She grabbed a glass of water and sat at the counter, holding the ice pack to her head. She stared at the glass. Her reflection, slightly distorted by the glass, peered up at her with the same expression. She put her head down on the counter and sighed. Just her luck. Her 'ability to piss people off by intelligently insulting them' had finally been used to the limit. 

Kari hadn't taken the liberty of turning on the light when she came into the kitchen. She half forgot, and half didn't want to due to the fact it might feed more pain to her headache. But now, some one flicked on the light, and stood in the doorway in a T-shirt and boxers, rubbing their eyes. Kari shut her eyes tightly and peeked through her arms.

"Bobby? What are you doing in here?" she asked after her eyes had adjusted to the light.

"I couldn't sleep," he answered with a yawn. He went to the fridge and grabbed a soda.

"Is that all you drink?" Kari asked.

"Pretty much," he replied, sitting across from her at the counter, "You couldn't sleep either?"

"Headache," Kari mumbled, taking a drink from her water. They were silent for the next few minutes.

"You know, John said he saw you get angry the other day," Bobby said after a while.

"Which day, when we were on the bleachers?" Kari asked, switching the ice pack to the left side of her head.

"Yeah."

"Dude," Kari said exhaustedly, "He knocked me down the bleachers, what'd he expect me to say, 'thank you'?" Bobby snorted as he drank his soda.

"He said he saw your eyes change," he tried to explain as he set down his drink.

"My eyes?" Kari asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yeah. He said all of the sudden you got this look in your eyes or something, like you were going to hit him."

"Why is "duh" the only comeback I can think of?" Kari asked sarcastically with half closed eyes. Her friend snickered again, ever amused by her sarcasm.

"No, but it freaked him out, that's why he went to the professor and he called you in."

"Oh, that's what that was about? He was scared so he tattled on me?" she said in the same tired yet sardonic voice.

"_No_. He thought maybe it had something to do with you not showing any powers." Bobby picked up his soda again.

"What, so my power's anger now?" she asked with a small laugh.

"Maybe," he answered honestly. She raised an eyebrow in surprise at his response.

"Are you serious?" she asked.

"Look, how would we know? John just 'saw' something. I didn't know, Kitty and Rogue still don't know, so who's to say you have a power at all?"

"Thanks Bobby, I needed that," Kari snapped, a twinge going through her head.

"Sorry. Just thought you should know, you know, because you and him got in that fight over it."

"It wasn't a FIGHT," she corrected, sneering.

"Oh, what was it, a friendly exchange of opinions?" Bobby asked with rolling eyes.

"Oh, blah, blah," Kari stuck her tongue out at him. There was another pause and Bobby finished his soda.

"Okay, I'm going back to bed. 'Night." He threw away the bottle and stretched, heading back out the door. Kari took a drink of water and sighed. She was getting ready to go back to her own room when she heard a small _thud_. Curious, she set down her ice pack and walked into the hallway.

"Bobby?" she called. She turned the corner and saw two men with flashlights and guns staring at a limp figure on the floor. Kari widened her eyes. It was Bobby, completely unconscious. One of the men looked up and tapped the other quickly. They raised their guns and Kari ran back down the hallway. The heard dull _chunks_ as some type of ammo hit the wall, missing her by inches. Out of fear, she ran faster. She didn't know where she was heading until she recognized part of the hallway. It was the hallway of rooms where the teachers slept. Then somewhere near the end of the hallway was Professor Xavier's room.

She looked around frantically and opened a door, shutting it quickly but quietly. She heard a loud _shing_ of metal and she jumped, backing into the door. A man with long metallic claws protruding from his hands sighed. His claws retracted and he stared at her. It was Logan.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked with a tired voice.

"There's men outside, and they're chasing me, I don't know what they're doing here!" Kari whispered frantically. Logan raised an eyebrow and pushed her lightly from the door. She flattened against the wall and he walked into the hallway. He poked his head back in and she looked up.

"Were you sleepwalking or something?" he asked.

"No," she answered, confused.

"There's no one out here," he said casually.

"What?" Kari stepped outside cautiously. He was right, there was no one up or down the hallway. It was completely clear.

"But, they shot Bobby, I saw them, he was on the floor and then they saw me —"

"Look kid, go back to bed." Logan nudged her down the hallway and went back into his room.

"But —" Kari started. He closed the door before she could finish. She felt a small irritation growing in her, then she sighed and started down the hallway again. Was she imagining them? Only one way to find out. Just as she was turning a corner, she saw another man dressed in the same outfit as the others, with a gun. He was facing the other way, but she knew he would turn any second.

"What I'd give to be Shadowcat right now," she thought, panicking. She looked left and right and just as the man turned around, she hid against the wall around the corner. Had he seen her?

Only one thing to do. She went back down the hallway and ran into Logan's room again.

"What are you doing NOW?" his voice came as he got out of bed.

"THERE'S A MAN OUTSIDE!" she whispered urgently.

"Look, if I take you to your room, will you quit flipping out?" he sighed. Logan opened the door and led her down the hallway. Kari stopped and he turned around.

"What now?" he asked.

She walked passed him and looked around the corner. Just as she expected, the man in black was still there. This time, he was facing her and caught a glimpse of her as she retreated behind Logan.

"What is your problem?" he said, getting annoyed. He looked around the corner and ducked just as something was shot at his head.

"I TOLD YOU!" Kari yelled angrily.

"GO WAKE THE OTHERS!" Logan yelled, running after the man with his claws extended. Kari spun around and went back down the hallway. She opened another door, where Storm was sleeping.

"Storm, wake up!" she whispered, shaking the woman's shoulder, "STORM!"

The teacher mumbled in her sleep and Kari screamed, "GET UP!"

She jumped and looked around.

'Kari, what are you —" she started.

"There's people inside the school, and Logan told me to wake you up!" Kari replied before she could finish, "We have to get everyone else!"

Storm jumped out of bed and into the hallway. She heard Logan's yells as he struggled with some one.

"I want you to go wake up as many students as you can, I'll wake up Jean and the others, GO!" Storm ordered, running into the room across the hall. Sighing out of mere frustration and fear, Kari ran down the hallway,. She passed Logan, who was battling with a man. There were two others lying limp on the ground at his feet. Kari hoped she wouldn't run into any of them. Her body aching from her injuries as she ran, every door she passed, she opened, screaming some message to get them up, and telling them to wake as many as they could as well. As several students scrambled around the hallways, Kari came to the end of a hallway, where Bobby was lying on the ground.

"BOBBY!" she yelled as she ran to him. His eyes were shut and he wasn't responding to any of her yells. He was completely unconscious.

"Crap." She looked around and saw Scott coming down the hallway.

"He's unconscious, I don't know what to do!" Kari told him.

"Wake up everyone down this hallway, I'll take him!" Scott said, picking Bobby up in his arms. Just as Scott disappeared, two men with guns came down the hallway, chasing none other than Kitty and Rogue.

"Oh boy," Kari said, her voice cracking.

"RUN!" Rogue yelled. As they ran, the men started easing up on them by the second.

"GO FASTER!" Kitty hollered, frightened.

"EASY FOR YOU TO SAY, YOU CAN WALK THROUGH WALLS!" Rogue yelled to her as they slid to the side in an attempt to turn down the hallway.

"Oh yeah!" Kitty said suddenly.

"Go!" Kari yelled, following Rogue. Kitty gave them a farewell glance and disappeared through the wall to their left. Kari was beginning to slow from fatigue and pain.

"Where in the world are we supposed to go now?" Rogue asked, turning a corner so quickly Kari almost hit the wall trying to turn.

"I vote find a teacher," Kari answered, getting more out of breath by the second, "Or somewhere I can stop running."

"Agreed!" Rogue nodded, "AHH!" She slid a foot across the floor as she almost ran into a man with a gun raised right at her. He suddenly lurched forward as three adamantium claws went through his back and out his chest. He fell onto the ground at Rogue's feet and she squealed, jumping back.

"Logan!" Kari said thankfully.

"Let's go." He turned and the two girls followed him. Kari was grateful for the 'rescue', but then a thought came to her like a lightning strike.

"Rogue," she said slowly.

"What?"

"Where's John?"


	6. Back To Start

Part 5 – Back To Start

"John?" Logan repeated.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know, but we'll find him. Calm down." Logan turned around the corner and led them down the hallway.

"Speak of the devil," Rogue said, "John."

Indeed, the 16-year-old was there, running full speed at them.

"NOT THAT WAY! TURN AROUND!" He screamed as he ran past them. Kari gave him a skeptical glance as he flew past her. Within a moment, they saw what he was freaking out about. A line of explosions was coming right toward them. The men had lined the hallway with bombs.

"YAAAAHHH!" The other three ran down the hallway after John.

"You never listen to me!" he yelled as Kari sped beside him.

"NOT THE TIME, JOHN!" she argued.

"In here!" Logan opened a door hidden in the wall and pushed them inside. He pressed a large button and it shut, leading them downwards.

"Is this an elevator?" Rogue asked.

"It leads down to the basement, we'll head to the garage from there. Jean or Storm might be able to help us. If they made it," he added.

"No more running," Kari half said to herself. Her body was close to collapsing by now, she was so tired. And her muscles ached. Inevitably, she slid down the wall of the elevator, breathing heavily, almost wheezing.

"Where's Bobby?" Rogue asked. Kari didn't answer. Everyone exchanged nervous glances and Logan sighed, catching his breath.

"Where's Shadowcat?" he asked Rogue.

"We got separated," she replied, "lucky brat can run through walls."

"Come on," Logan said as the elevator came to a stop. Kari looked almost annoyed, ready to state the fact that she was now incapable of getting up. She had lost all feeling in her legs.

"Logan! Thank god!" Storm and Jean came running over to them. Scott was behind them holding Bobby. Rogue started trembling and ran over to him.

"Oh," John started, "CRAP."

"We're not sure if the men know about the safety chamber under the south wing, but Piotr and Professor Xavier are down there with the rest of the students," Storm explained.

"All of them?" Kari asked hopefully. There was a pause, and Jean replied with a solemn, "No."

Kari tensed up. "But —"

"It's okay. Logan, come with me, I need to talk to you. Scott take them onboard, we have to find help."

"We're taking them with us?" Scott repeated in dismay.

"We don't have a choice," Jean said, heading to the back of the garage.

"Onboard?" Rogue asked.

"Not to spoil the moment or anything but, can I get some help?" Kari spoke up. Scott sighed and handed Bobby to John, then picked up Kari.

"Thank you," she said gratefully. She was still catching her breath. They approached the jet and John stopped, raising his eyebrows..

"The X-Jet?" John said slowly.

"Get on," Scott demanded, not particularly happy about carrying out the order. John took in a deep breath and followed the older man, who set Kari down in a seat. Her legs were tingling, feeling like they were getting circulation again. John set Bobby into a seat, and then collapsed into one himself.

"Whoa," Kari whispered. It was a crazy sight. She had only been on a regular airplane. This had more controls, less seats, and more ground to walk on. Almost everything was a silver color, and it looked so technologically advanced, even Kari couldn't figure our how to use it. She was quite a computer whiz herself, she thought. She wiggled around her bare feet and felt her legs tingle a bit more.

"Where in world are we supposed to go?" Rogue asked, running her hand over the back of one of the seats.

"That's for us to decide." Scott said. Jean, Logan, and Storm came back on the ship.

"Scott," Storm motioned for him and they all huddled together, discussing their next move.

"This is insane. What the hell are we supposed to do? And where the hell is Shadowcat?" Kari asked, mostly to herself.

"Guys!" came a yell. Kari nearly jumped out of her skin and screamed, pulling her legs up onto the chair in a flash, staring in terror at the floor. Kitty came through the hull of the plane right under John's feet.

"Holy crap!" he jumped out of his seat and backed into the wall, trying to catch his breath.

"Guys, we have to get out of here! Those guys are going to blow up the school!" she urged.

"Say again?" Logan said, leaning back and looking around Scott.

"I was running and trying to get away, I passed a room and they were lining everything with bombs, rooms, hallways, classrooms, it's all going to blow!" she said quickly.

"The safety chamber?" Jean asked fearfully.

"I don't know, but unless we get out of here fast, we're dead." Kitty jumped up through the bottom of the hull and landed solidly on her feet.

"Storm, get the jet ready, everyone strap in!" Scott ordered. Everyone obeyed and Rogue settled Bobby's seatbelts before sitting down in her own spot. Everyone buckled himself or herself in and Kari let out a deep breath.

"I hate flying, I hate flying," she kept repeating under her breath.

"Engines firing," Storm reported.

There was an echoing rumble throughout the garage. The jet fired up with a low pitched half laser noise, and another rumble issued from the walls.

"GO, THEY'RE SETTING OFF THE BOMBS!" Kitty yelled. The ceiling opened and the jet levitated off the ground, then shot up through the opening and into the air in a few split seconds. Kari felt her stomach spinning out of control.

"Where are we going?" Rogue asked for the hundredth time.

"Somewhere we can settle for the next 24 hours or so, and contact any help we can think of," Scott answered vaguely.

"That helps," Kari muttered.

"What about Bobby?" Rogue asked.

"He's been injected with what is most likely a high dose tranquilizer. We're not sure when he'll come to, but he's not in any immediate danger." Jean said this while pressing a few buttons and cruising the jet at high altitude, they were on smooth flying.

"Where are we supposed to land, can't they track us?" Kari asked.

"Possibly," Storm answered unreassuringly.

"We're screwed," John said dully.

"Calm down, we'll be fine. We just need to hide somewhere and contact the professor when we get there." Storm settled in her seat.

"If he's still alive," Rogue grumbled.

"Anyone have any suggestions as to where to stay?" Logan asked. Kari specifically saw Jean glance at her. She sighed.

"My house. We can go to my house." Kari sank into her seat, along with her stomach. She gave a small breath and shut her eyes. What a great meeting that will be.

"Arizona it is," Storm said, pressing some coordinates into a keyboard.

"We're going all the way to Arizona?" Rogue repeated.

"What choice do we have?" Storm replied.

"We could go to — the middle of a forest, I don't know. Won't they find us?" Rogue started panicking.

"Everyone calm down." Scott ordered loudly. Everyone fell silent. The rest of the trip was quiet, hardly anyone made a sound. Bobby was still unconscious when Storm announced they were nearing New Mexico. Kari felt her stomach sink farther and farther every mile they flew.

After about four hours, Storm announced they were flying over Phoenix.

"Tell me you have a large backyard," Storm said hopefully.

"There's some woods behind I house, I guess," Kari answered, "You can land there and we'll go to the house from there."

"How big are the woods?" Jean asked.

"Four, maybe five miles across," Kari shrugged, "I'd recommend landing near the house, though, some of us aren't in the condition to walk that far."

"Okay."

After about another ten minutes, Storm told Kari to guide them from the air. When she recognized a spot, she could estimate, and soon enough they found the woods behind her house.

"Successive land," Storm announced. With a small lurch and a loud rumble, everyone sighed and undid their safety belt. Of course, Bobby was still not awake.

"Can you lead us from here?" Jean asked.

"Through the _woods_?" Kari asked, a slight panic in her tone. Jean nodded.

"S-sure. I guess." Kari looked at everyone, then feeling slightly embarrassed, walked off the ship with everyone in tow. Since they were all pretty much barefoot, they had to walk slow, taking heed of rocks and braches. There were few paths, but Kari, pretending they weren't with her and she was just going on a walk like she used to, eventually found a way back to the house. They came to the backyard and Kari jumped the fence surrounding it. Her old cat, Wayne, jumped to his feet and raised his fur. He had grown since she last saw him. Not wanting to cause a commotion, she walked around him and to the back door. It was unlocked. She hesitated, then opened it slowly.

"Mom? Dad?" 


	7. Ice On Fire

Part 6 – Ice On Fire

Kari stepped slowly into the living room. The family's three other cats were scattered about the room, snoozing. The large black one, Felix, looked up curiously at Kari.

"Hey, Felix," she whispered, scratching him under the chin. He purred and she stood up, looking around.

"Are they home?" Kitty asked.

"Ssh," Kari said urgently, "I don't want them to know you're here yet."

Kari walked down a thin hallway, crammed with six doors. She knocked on the second one.

"Mom?" she asked hopefully. There was a rustle from in the room, and the door opened. Her mom's face peered through, and her eyes widened to the size of large marbles.

"Kari! W-what are you doing here?" she gasped, opening the door and giving her a hug. Kari was completely taken aback and she just stood there.

"Mom, we're in trouble," was all she could say afterwards.

"Who's we?" her mom asked. She looked over Kari's shoulder and her eyes widened, if possible, even more.

"Who —" she started.

"We'll explain in a few minutes. Can we stay here tonight?" her daughter asked hopefully. Her mom was speechless. "And where's dad?"

"He's…at…work…" her mom said slowly. Her mom stared at her and put her hand on Kari's eye, which was still bruised from her assault on the basketball court.

"What happened to you?" she asked, bewildered.

"Long story, just, give us a few minutes, okay?"

Everyone paused.

"Okay. Um…Rogue, Kitty, John, go in my room, I'll be there in a second, the next door on your right. Um…Jean and the rest of you…could you…talk to my mom?"

Everyone exchanged glances and sighs, then shrugged and obeyed. It was a crowded hallway, so Kari had to flatten herself against the wall as people passed her. She walked into her bedroom after the other three and shut her door. Her heart was pounding.

"Oh, geez," she breathed.

"So, that was your mom?" Kitty said, pointing at the door.

"Yeah," Kari answered, letting out a deep breath.

"Hm." Everyone paused, then Kari headed for her closet.

"Okay, being the tomboy I am, I always where baggy guys' clothes, so here." Kari threw a pair of dark camo pants and a long sleeved shirt at John.

"Go into the bathroom and change," Kari said, opening the door, "We can't run around in our pajamas. The bathroom's right there."

John stared at her with an eyebrow raised, then gave her an exhausted stare, heading to the bathroom.

"Tell me you have SOME girly clothes?" Rogue begged.

"Hardly, but this'll do." Kari handed her a pair of jeans and a small shirt. She handed Kitty something similar, then filed through the rest of the hangers. They all changed and Kari grabbed her pajama pants. She reached into the pocket and found John's lighter. Looking over her shoulder, she shoved it into her other pocket and opened the door to let everyone out. Another ten minutes, and Kari, John, Kitty, and Rogue were sitting in the living room, most of everyone was on the floor, and they were discussing the dilemma.

"We just need to stay for the night, in the morning, we'll be gone. Okay?" Logan said to Kari's mom.

"Well, I suppose, I mean, I can't exactly say NO." Her mom was staring at everyone. "So, are you all —"

"Mutants?" John finished for her. He was wearing his old smug expression, with nonchalant eyes.

"Um —" her mom seemed to be at a loss for words.

"Mom, don't be afraid of them. They aren't dangerous." Kari stood up and turned on the TV. She flipped through the channels until she found the news, where there was a report about a "mutant attack on a school in Cincinnati."

"They're lying. They always have been. We didn't do that. That was OUR school, it was a school for US." Kitty looked at the TV.

"They want to kill us. All of us." Scott shifted in his seat. Kari's mom gave a great sigh.

"Fine. And if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to your father about this." She looked at Kari.

"That's okay. Go ahead. Let's get everyone settled as for beds." Kari stood up. It was almost six in the morning.

"Um…I guess Kitty, Rogue, Storm, and Jean can sleep in my room," Kari suggested, "And you guys can sleep in here." She added, referring to all of the males.

"What about Bobby?" Rogue said suddenly.

"He's still on the plane," Scott realized.

"Well, some one go get him, and we'll lay him on the couch, we need to try and wake up him up." Kari went into the kitchen.

"Kari, are you a…a…" Kari's mom stuttered.

"No," Kari answered immediately, "I haven't done anything to prove I am either. Sorry to disappoint you." She added bitterly. She walked into the laundry room and grabbed a bunch of blankets.

"Can some one help me?" she asked. Kitty got up and grabbed a few of the blankets.

"We'll grab some pillows too, and we'll set up a bed-type-thing for you guys. I'll grab some sleeping bags you guys can sleep on," she added to the girls. Everyone nodded.

"Wow," John half laughed.

"What?" Kari asked.

"I've never seen you like this before. You're being like, all in charge and everything."

"Well, here's me being in charge." She threw a few blankets at him. He scoffed and started helping everyone set things up. Scott and Storm headed back to the jet to grab Bobby and hopefully try to contact some one.

* * *

About four hours later, Kari was sitting with her eyes glued to the computer screen. Typing here and there, clicking the mouse spontaneously. She was scanning the Internet for news articles, newspaper clips, anything on recent attacks having to do with mutants. She scratched her eyes and blinked several times, keeping on her work. She scrolled down and read over a few articles, then leaned back and sighed, stretching. She shut her eyes as she stretched her back. 

"Having fun?" She yelled and jumped. John stared at her.

"You're so paranoid," he said, shaking his head.

"Why do you always have to sneak up on me?" she growled.

"Why do you always jump?" he retorted.

She took a long deep breath and felt her heat attempt to regain it's calm beat.

"Did you find anything?" he asked, sitting down in another chair.

"No, not yet. Just rants about how mutants are evil, and they'll 'stop at nothing to kill us all.'"

"Beautiful," John commented.

"Wait." Kari double clicked on something and got closer to the screen. She started mumbling words to herself as she read. John craned his neck to see what she was looking at.

"JEAN!" Kari screamed, flying from the chair and out of the room. John leaned back in his chair in a jump. He watched her run out of the room with a look of bewilderment. He raised an eyebrow and stood up to read the screen.

_Mutant Attack On School_  
_A school full of students was attacked earlier today, around one o' clock. Police are investigating the ruins. The school was apparently lined with bombs that were set off not long afterward. No suspects are currently listed, and we fear this was yet another case of mutant attack. Students were found in a chamber under the school, fatally wounded and several dead. Hospitals nearby have stated that they cannot disclose any names of the victims, but it is known that the devastation has killed several innocent victims._

John stared at the article with wide eyes. It was impossible. Several dead? And mutants accused? What the hell?

Jean came into the room with Kari and Logan in tow. Jean sat down and read the article, having the same reaction as John.

"That's insane! They can't accuse US, it was OUR school!" Kari said defensively.

"Calm down Kari, we'll get this cleared up." Jean stood up and walked out the door, heading for the backyard.

"Where are you going?" Logan asked.

"To talk to Storm. We have to find the professor." Jean sped out the door with Logan behind her.

"This is ridiculous," Kari said, flopping into her chair and staring in dismay at the computer screen.

"It's okay, Jean said they'll fix everything," John said and sat back down in the other chair, "They're going to talk to Professor Xavier."

"Professor Xavier might be DEAD, John," Kari snapped. John was taken aback, so he remained silent. Kari shoved her hands in her pockets and felt the lighter. She pulled it out and stared at it. She looked at John.

"Here." She handed him the lighter.

"Oh," he said, "That's where it went. Thanks."

He took it and put it in his pocket. Kari looked at him. It was strange to see him in her clothes. It kind of made her laugh. She smiled.

"What?" he asked, noticing she was staring at him.

"Nothing," she answered, standing up and walking into her room. She shut the door and sat down on her bed. Kitty was filing through her bookcase and Rogue was staring at the posters on her wall.

"What's with you?" Kitty asked, noticing the snickering look on Kari's face.

"Nothing," she repeated, lying down on her bed. She stared at the fan on the ceiling. It felt so strange being back home.

"Kari!" her mom called. She sat up and got to her feet, opening the door and walking down the hallway.

"Yeah, mom?" she called, looking around.

"Tell your friends to help themselves to anything in the fridge, and I'll be in my room if you need me, okay?" Her mom had been working on setting up a "bed" for the guys in the living room. Bobby was lying on the couch. He had been brought in earlier.

"Okay. Thanks for letting us stay, mom."

"Oh, no problem, just…give me a warning next time?" she asked. Kari smiled.

"Sure."

"Okay." Her mom walked into her room and disappeared behind the door. Kari sighed and looked around. She walked out the front door and stared at the ground. The spot she had been laying when she first met Jean and the professor. It seemed so long ago, but it really wasn't. She looked at the sky, and around a bit. She saw her mom's car, and the dirt road in front of the house. The drying grass in the yard. She shrugged and went back inside. She walked into the living room and saw Bobby move.

"Bobby?" she asked hopefully, moving to his side. He was shaking. She raised an eyebrow. She put her hand on his forehead. It was burning hot, and he was starting to sweat.

"Rogue!" she called.

"Yeah?" Her friend came down the hallway.

"Grab Bobby some ice, he's running a fever, I'll be right back." Leaving Rogue utterly confused but obedient, she ran out the backdoor and into the woods.

"JEAN! LOGAN! STORM! SOME ONE!" she kept yelling.

"What? What is it?" Storm came bounding through the trees, following her voice.

"Bobby's running a fever, I don't know why, he just started shaking!"

"Okay, come on," Storm nodded and they ran back to the house.

Rogue was sitting on her knees at Bobby's side, holding an icepack on the top of his head. He was shaking harder now, and the sides of his eyes were twitching.

"What's going on?" Rogue asked, panicking. Kari looked back and forth between, her, Bobby, and Storm.

"I don't know, Kari, grab a damp rag, we need to keep him cool." Storm took the ice pack from Rogue, who stood up and watched in panic.

"John, Kitty! Some one get in here, I need your help!" Kari yelled, looking for towels in the laundry room. John came down the hallway, and Kitty appeared through the wall beside him, making him jump.

"What? What's going on?" she asked.

"Bobby's having a reaction to something, I need you to wet the towels and bring them back in here." Kari tossed them some towels.

"Why, what's happening?" John asked, catching the towels without notice.

"He's got a fever or something, just go!" Kari ordered. She went into the kitchen and turned the sink on, tossing towels under the faucet. She came back after wringing them out and Storm pulled off Bobby's shirt. Kari handed her the towels. She folded them and laid them gently on Bobby's neck and chest. He was still shaking, and he was sweating even worse now.

"What's this?" Rogue said to herself, picking up Bobby's shirt. She found three, thin pointed needles stuck on the threads of the collar. Storm took them with a steady hand and rolled them over in her palm.

"Stay here and watch Bobby, I'll give these to Jean, maybe we can find out what's wrong with him." Storm left and Kari went back to wet more towels. Rogue sat beside him, dabbing his forehead with one of them. John and Kitty came back with towels and Kari came around the counter, folding them just as Storm had and lining them on his arms and stomach.

"Will he be okay?" Kitty asked.

"I don't know. Rogue just found these needles in his shirt, Storm went to give them to Jean. Maybe she thinks he's poisoned." Kari ran behind the counter again and turned the faucet off, wringing out another towel and bringing it to Bobby.

"Poisoned?" Kitty repeated.

"I don't know, he's sick, all right?" Kari snapped.

"Well, don't yell at ME," Kitty said, raising her eyebrows.

"Sorry," Kari muttered. She sighed and Storm came back after another few minutes.

"Jean's analyzing the needles right now, we found traces of some liquid that might had been injected into Bobby. We're not sure what it is yet, but she just said to keep him cool and wait." Storm stared at them all, and they stared back.

"Is he going to die?" Rogue asked, another tone of panic rising.

"I don't know," Storm answered honestly.


	8. Magneto

Part 7 - Magneto

Over the next few hours, Rogue watched over Bobby, repeatedly soaking the towels now and then. Kitty stayed by to comfort her, and Kari went back to her computer scanning. It seemed to be all she could do now.

"What else are you going to look for?" Kitty had asked.

"Anything I can," was Kari's answer. She typed and clicked, typed and clicked, scrolled over pages, opened new windows, and still found nothing. It was almost four o' clock, and she leaned back in her chair with a sigh.

"Getting tired?"

Logan came into the room. Him and Scott had changed into some of her dad's clothes, so he almost looked like her dad, which made her laugh a little in her head.

"Yeah," she answered with a sigh, "I can't find any other information, all of it's just crap about how mutants are evil." Logan snickered.

"Your mom tells me you're quit the computer freak," he said.

"I suppose. I mean, as for stealing software, good god no. But I just like to hack into other files and stuff. It's kind of interesting." Kari shrugged and took a drink of her water she had by the monitor.

"Computer hacker, huh?" Logan repeated.

"Yeah. It's really easy once you get the hang of it." Kari closed a few windows and scanned some links on a website. "Do you think the government might have anything to do with this?" she asked, still staring at the screen. The light was starting to hurt her eyes, but she just blinked it off.

"I guess it could be possible," Logan said, nodding a bit to himself.

"Maybe the president has some whacked out conspiracy against us now." Kari leaned back in her chair again.

"Logan, we need your help, could you come here for a second?" Storm popped her head into the room.

"Yeah sure." Logan left Kari to her cyber search. She held her head in her hands and set her elbows on the desk.

"_Maybe the president has some whacked out conspiracy against us now."_

"Wait a minute…" Kari sat there, staring blankly at the screen.

"THAT'S IT!" Kari flew from her chair and sped down the hallway.

"WAIT! STORM, COME BACK!" she yelled, running out the back door. Kitty and Rogue cocked their eyebrows as she ran into the backyard. Storm and Logan turned around, staring at her. They seemed confused from her frantic yells.

"A conspiracy, that's it! What if some one convinced the government to exterminate all of the mutants!" she said.

"It wouldn't be surprising," Logan replied with a casual look, "With all of the riots and crap going around."

"No, no, no." Kari waved her hands.

"Then what are you talking about?"

"The president has always turned down riots and stuff because by eliminating mutants, it could cost him a serious reputation. Not EVERYONE is afraid of mutants, and they have rights just as normal people do, so by just saying 'Hey, let's kill them all' he'd be violating their rights as the public!"

"What are you getting at?" Storm asked, completely confused.

"What if some one managed to convince him that by killing all of the mutants, he would be making a good choice? What if they got authorization to begin an extermination?"

"But what could possibly push the president over like that?"

"The threat of a war?" Kari said slowly. Logan and Storm stared at her, and then exchanged glances.

"You're a genius," Storm said finally. Kari was taken aback at the comment, but shrugged.

"Process of elimination, I guess. Everyone knows that any threat of war, the president will act on. Some one must have got him to believe the mutants were planning a war against the humans, or something."

"I'll talk to Jean." Storm turned and headed for the jet. Kari ran back inside with Logan behind her saying, "You're a genius," over and over again.

"Why, what happened?" Kitty asked. Rogue shrugged and looked at Bobby. He had stopped shaking, but he was still extremely warm.

"We have to find a list, or something, of all of the anti-mutant protestors known. One of them has to be the one who talked to the president." Kari sat down in her chair and started an online search.

"But there could be millions, how are we going to find one little protestor?"

"They have reputations for the intensity of their riots," Kari explained.

"What happened, I heard yelling." John came in, scratching the top of his head and messing up his hair. He had fallen asleep on Kari's bedroom floor two hours prior. She had apparently woken him up when she ran down the hallway. His hair was now sticking up in funny places. It made Kari crack a small smile.

"I might have figured out why our school was attacked," she said in a rushed voice, her eyes scanning over website links, her hand clicking the mouse here and there.

"How?" he asked, walking over to one of the chairs and flopping lazily into it, blinking and rubbing his eyes.

"Some one might have a conspiracy against mutants," Kari explained.

"Duh," John said, with raised eyebrows, but with half lidded eyes from fatigue. He obviously wasn't fully awake yet.

"No, I mean a BIG conspiracy, with a plan complex enough to convince the president to authorize a mutant extermination — AHA! Got one!" She opened a web page, with links to over fifteen others. It was all a list of mutant protestors, listed by popularity.

"I can tell this is going to take a while," Logan said mostly himself.

"Hey, I got a theory, didn't I?"

"Yeah, yeah, you got credit for that." He looked at John, who was still giving Kari a "What the freaking hell" stare that she still didn't notice.

"But wouldn't the president deny them? Wouldn't he be violating the rights of the mutants?" John asked.

"Not if they told him the mutants might be planning a war," Kari answered.

"But who could do _that_?" John asked.

"Daren Richardson," Kari replied, opening a new window of a man's profile. There was a long silent pause in the room.

"And who's Daren Richardson?" Logan question with raised eyebrows.

"He's this protestor I always hear about on the news. I read over a few articles about him today. God, WHY didn't I make a connection?" she growled to herself.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up, we never would have figured out anything without you mentioning the president being involved." Logan shrugged.

"Daren Richardson has a history with mutant riots. He's led forty-seven of them, in eight different states, within the past ten years. He's been arrested a few times, AND — look at this! He's been known to speak with the president about authorizing mutants arrests and/or obstruction of rights!"

"He sounds like the guy we're looking for," Logan said.

"Go tell Storm and Jean, I'll get more information." Kari right clicked and started printing the pages of Richardson's information.

"You're fast," John commented.

"I'm not as stupid as you think," Kari said with a sideways glance.

"I never thought you were stupid," he said honestly. Kari turned and looked at him.

"Then what was with the whole 'quit being such a know-it-all?" she asked.

"I meant when it wasn't _necessary_," he corrected. Kari rolled her eyes.

"Forgive me for not specifying that in my head," she sneered.

"See, like right then! Uncalled for." John pointed at her.

"Not in my view," Kari replied, turning back to her computer.

"The maybe we shouldn't see things so differently," John suggested.

"I think my view is fine where it is. Opposite of an egotistical show off." Kari grabbed the papers from the printer and set them on the desk.

"Okay, now what was that for? I didn't even do anything!"

"Will you go away? I'm busy." Kari scrolled down the page and read some more. John stared at her, completely confused about her change of attitude.

"Hey," he started.

"I said beat it, Allerdyce," Kari growled, turning and glaring at him. John widened his eyes and stood up to leave the room. He raised his hands and backed away. Her eyes had changed again, to the same they had been that day on the bleachers.

"Okay, sorry," he said quickly, leaving. Kari followed him with her eyes, then turned back to the computer.

John slowly stepped down the hallway and passed Kitty and Rogue. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a cup from the cabinet behind him, filling it with some water. He stared at the glass. Why did she keep changing like that? And why didn't anyone believe him about when he saw it?

And he noticed a pattern, that it only happened when she got angry. Did she hate him or something? He shook his head and sighed, taking a drink from his glass. He headed back down the hallway, deciding whether to talk to her, or to stay away from her. Logan came back into the house and followed him down the hallway, pretty much forcing him to go back towards Kari.

"What have you found out?" he asked.

"I have these printouts you can take to the others, I've found some jail records, but that's about it."

"Jail records? How'd you get those?" Logan asked, taking the papers from her.

"Computer hacker, hello," Kari said with a sly grin. John looked around the side of Logan and saw Kari was completely back to normal. He almost felt disappointed, but thankful at the same time.

"Okay, I'll take these to Jean, and we can — what's that noise?" Logan said suddenly.

Kari turned her head and saw the lights on her computer flickering on and off. Then it went out completely.

"What the hell?" she clicked the "Esc" button and nothing happened. Logan handed her the papers back and walked down the hallway.

"Don't tell me," he begged quietly.

"What?" Rogue asked. He went out the backdoor and stood there. Of course, none other than the one he _didn't_ want to see.

"Hello, Wolverine."


	9. More In Common

Part 8 - More In Common  


Logan immediately found himself extending his claws and clenching his fists.

"What do you want?" he growled.

"No battle, I assure you. I came to help, and in turn ask for your assistance, slightly." Magneto walked up to him and Logan stood his ground.

"Oh, so brutal, step aside, will you?" He walked around Logan and inside. Rogue looked up calmly, then screamed and hid behind the side of the couch. Kitty looked up.

"Who's he?" she asked.

"Stay away from them, I'm warning you," Logan threatened.

"Oh, give over, will you? I'm not here for any fighting, didn't you hear me the first time?" Magneto scoffed and looked around. "Just as well, where is exactly IS here?"

"It's my house."

Kari came down the hallway with a half curious, have defensive look.

"And what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Ah. As for that, I can simply say that I need assistance with something. I don't suppose I can speak to some one with a higher qualification, perhaps Dr. Grey?"

"What do you need, Magneto?" Logan asked sternly.

"Mystique has been infected with a virus, and I need some one to help her," he answered.

In through the door came two people. One was some one Kari had never seen before. Covered in a complete hue of blue skin, she seemed to be unconscious. She was levitating on a metal stretcher type device, which might have been how Magneto had transported her, given his ability to control and manipulate metal. The second stretcher, however, held none other than Professor Charles Xavier.

"I managed to reach him after the bomb had gone off," Magneto said, noting Logan's shocked look.

"What about the rest of the students?" Kitty asked immediately.

"Unfortunately, I could not help them. I left them for the humans to deal with. Wolverine, if you would please, find me Dr. Grey."

Logan gave a disapproving glance, then walked outside with his claws still extended.

"Who are you?" Kitty asked.

"I am merely Magneto, a mutant like yourself, I would suppose, but my power surely surpasses yours." Magneto motioned his hand and the two stretchers came down onto the living room floor, where everyone had set up blankets for a bed. The two mutants were slowly slid off of the stretchers, which when done, neatly set themselves aside.

"She's running a fever," Kitty noticed, looking at Mystique.

"Yes. She was infected with a virus nicknamed the Anti-X Virus. I have not yet discovered what it contains, but at this point, I can tell it's not good."

"Obviously," Rogue scoffed to herself. Magneto glanced her way and she fearfully looked back.

"How's the professor? Was he infected?" Kitty asked.

"No, fortunately. But he's not yet conscious, as you can see." Magneto removed the helmet he was wearing, which no one would have noticed if he hadn't touched it. Everyone was too focused either on the two new residents, or the fact his voice seemed to echo, but then again, not.

"They're in here," said Logan's voice.

Jean came in and gasped. She rushed to Professor Xavier, checking his pulse, and making sure he was okay.

"From what I understand, he's just asleep," Magneto commented.

"And he said Mystique was infected with something," Kitty said, pointing to the blue woman. Jean reluctantly felt Mystique's forehead and checked her pulse.

"Her heart's racing, and her fever's really high." Jean turned and went to Bobby. She felt his wrist and his forehead, and then looked at Logan.

"Same symptoms," she said fearfully.

"Is Bobby infected with the same virus?" Kari asked. Everyone almost forgot she was standing there.

"The virus is called the Anti-X virus. Mystique was shot with a needle when we entered the school. At first I thought it was possibly a tranquilizer." Magneto looked at Jean.

"That's what we though Bobby had been hit with," Kitty answered.

"Are they going to recover?" Kari asked.

"I'm not sure yet," Jean answered, "But I have been able to get an analysis on those needles we found on Bobby. They contain a high dose of a chemical that apparently _reverses_ the mutant gene."

"Like, turning them all into humans?" Kitty asked, her mouth open in shock.

"Possibly," Jean nodded, "But we haven't figured out anything else, other than the side effects, which contain fever, spasms and, apparently, control loss of mutant power."

"What do you mean?" Rogue asked.

"Bobby and Mystique may not be able to control their powers until we find a cure. Bobby could randomly shoot off ice, or Mystique could spontaneously transform into another person. My best suggestion is we keep a close watch on them. But here's the bad news."

"And the rest was all _good_ news?" Kitty asked sarcastically.

"The virus is supposed to reverse the mutant gene, therefore, transforming the victim into a human. Here's the problem. This virus hasn't been tested yet. And no vaccine has been produced. So it's possible that by the intense reversal of the gene, since the body is already so attached to it, the victim…may die." Jean gave everyone a worried look.

"So we're screwed," John said casually, coming up behind Kari. As usual, she jumped and gave him a small glare.

"If you want to put all of that into blunt teenager terms," Magneto said, "Yes."

"Storm's working on a higher analysis, maybe we can find a chemical that will balance out the procedure. But it will take time," Jean added.

"What if Bobby freaks out on us?" Kitty asked, beginning to panic.

No one answered. There was a long pause where everyone exchanged glances, and Jean got to her feet.

"Hopefully I'll have some better news for you later." She walked out the back door past Logan. He sighed and stared at Bobby, who was beginning to shake again. Almost out of impulse, Rogue grabbed his hand.

"You watch Bobby. Kari, get as much more information as you can." Logan walked back outside and Magneto followed him.

"What do you want?" Logan asked with a small growl.

"I wish to speak with Storm, if you don't mind." Magneto kept following him and Logan grumbled something to himself as they walked.

Kari turned around to walk back down the hallway, forgetting John was there and almost running into him.

"Sorry," she said. He backed against the wall and she walked past him. He stood at the end of the hallway, watching her turn the corner to the computer room. He sighed, mostly to himself and just stood there.

"John."

He gave a kind of yelp and turned around. It was Kitty.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just a little tired." She gave him a suspicious look, then shrugged and went back to Bobby. John mentally smacked himself and went back down the hallway. Afraid to go talk to Kari, that she might flip out on him again, he went into her room and sat on the floor. He looked around, at the various posters on the walls. Her bookcase, the closet doors, a cabinet in the corner with more books in it. Random stuffed animals stacked up in random places. He smiled a bit to himself. It all seemed so strange for some one like Kari, yet at the same time so typical. The door creaked open a bit and he jumped, turning his head. It was a cat, large and orange, covered in mounds of fur. He raised an eyebrow at the cat, almost giggling to himself.

The feline came up to him and smelled his knee, looking up at him with big round eyes.

"What?" he asked quietly. The cat gave a tiny _mrow_ and pawed his leg. John sighed and scratched him behind his ears. The cat gave a content purr and immediately, surprising John a bit, jumped into his lap. He snickered and continued to pet the cat as he stared around the room a bit more. Thirty minutes later he was laying on his back with the feline curled up on his chest, purring lightly. The door opened again and John looked at Kari, who was upside down in his current vision.

"What are you doing?" she asked, cracking a tiny and curious smile.

"Making friends with your cat," John answered. At John's sudden voice, Wayne perked his head up and _mrowed_ at Kari.

"Hey," she said. She picked him up with a slight struggle, obviously to the fact he was really heavy.

"What's his name?" John asked.

"Wayne," Kari replied, poking the cat's nose playfully.

"That's kind of an odd name for a cat," John commented.

'My parents named him. We have a weird tradition of naming our cats after hockey players." Kari sort of laughed to herself, ruffling the fur on top of Wayne's head. He shook his head and licked his whiskers, looking up at her. There was a long silence, almost to the point where John became uncomfortable.

"Why did your parents send you away again?" he asked, half curious, and half wanting to end the silence.

"I had an accident at school, and the principal reported it as a mutant attack. My parents thought I had some type of powers, and they wanted to get rid of me. All my life, people had been afraid of me, and I never knew why. My parents told me before I left, there had been a chain of events, where something happened, and the school got scared. I was constantly switching schools. I never had any friends. I was always known as the 'mutant girl', and they always said it like I was the only one. Every time my parents talk about an 'incident', I never remember anything. I only remember one, and that's the one I was finally sent away for." There was another long silence after that, only broken by Wayne's sudden rise of a purring tone as Kari pet him along his back.

"You never told us what happened," John added.

"Because I never felt it was necessary. I felt that, what was the point of telling a story about my 'discovery of being a mutant' when it wasn't even true? It was just a freak accident."

"I'm sorry," John said quickly, noticing her voice growing rapid and involuntary.

"I mean, you have a right to ask, I just," she started, pausing, "I never felt it was right, you know? I felt they just used it as an excuse. That they just hated me anyway."

"I know how you feel," John said after a pause. He looked at the floor, then got to his feet, reaching for the bedroom door.

"Where are you going?" Kari asked.

"I don't know," he said with a shrug, "I just figured you'd want to be alone right now."

Kari hesitated, curious if she should ask him to stay or let him leave. There was again a long pause, with him holding the door, and her staring at him. Then, to keep the matter indecisive, she decided to say, "What do you mean, you know how I feel?"

Expecting a shocked reaction from him, she became the shocked one when instead he seemed almost sincere. He looked at his hand on the doorknob, then back at her.

"When I was twelve, my parents kicked me out into the streets when they found out I was a mutant. For about six months I just wandered around, until Professor Xavier found me. Even then I still felt like an outcast. I guess you still kind of feel that way, huh?"

Kari felt as though he was pulling words from her mind. She slowly nodded. "Yeah, that's right."

John nodded to himself.

"What did happen?" he asked.

"It's a very long, moronic story. You're rip your ears off, I'm sure." Kari laughed to herself and John shut the door. He sat down on the bed next to her.

"Try me," he said with a smile.


	10. Foxfire

Part 9 - Foxfire

"Well," Kari started with a sarcastic sigh. Wayne's ear flicked and he stopped purring. "Basically what happened was, we had this final exam, in science class. It was on this whole thing about chemicals and temperatures and crap, I didn't really care. So, I was stuck with this guy, I REALLY hate him. Anyway, we got stuck together doing this exam, and he was controlling the flame, and I was in charge of the note taking, and graphing, and what not. So while he was working with the equipment, he kept nagging at me that I wasn't graphing the status right. And he just kept provoking me, then I just got really angry, and I slammed down the clipboard, then the fire just went all haywire somehow and it caught on his lab coat."

Kari flexed her hands and gripped the blanket on her bed nervously. She stared at her fingers and extended them, then curled them back and gripped the blanket. She did that a few times during the long silence.

"He got third degree burns across his stomach, and the school blamed me, and I got expelled." She added quietly. John stared at her.

"There were pretty much two sides to the story," she added again in an undertone.

"Two sides? How?" John asked.

"Well, when the principle called in my parents, she also had the boy's family there, and she explained to them that I had somehow turned up the meter on the fuel expulsion on the equipment, and that was what caused him to catch on fire. When my parents asked me if that was true, I said no. Then he said 'Of course that's not what she did, she never touched the equipment.' Then they asked him if that's not what happened how did I do it, and he said 'I don't know. But she did it somehow.'"

Kari continued to grip the blanket nervously and John watched the movements of her fingers. They seemed almost as rhythmic as when he clicked his lighter. Her fingers would straighten, then curl up and flex tightly, almost out of anger. He watched them do this for a while, until he looked back up and noticed her eyes were beginning to glaze over with anger again.

_Don't leave her yet._

John took a deep silent breath and pondered as he watched her eyes change from a deep green to an almost pearly black. It was the first time he noticed them physically change. Before it was almost a sense of emotion shift. This time he actually saw her eyes change. He mulled her story over in his head. She didn't sound very much like himself. It was strange how he seemed so connected to her now. He was brought back to his senses when he noticed she seemed to be shaking. Her eyes were wide open, almost all black; and her hands were flexed so hard he could see her veins.

"Kari?" he asked cautiously. Her back started arching forward like a rabid dog and he almost sprang from the bed. Or at least he wanted to. He stood up carefully, and backed away from her with a slow pace.

"Kari?" he asked again. Wayne sprang from her lap and his fur stood straight up. His ears flattened against his skull and he uttered a low hiss. John almost begged him to shut up, in case he startled her and caused her to freak out. John almost started shaking himself when she almost seemed to growl.

"Kari!" he said loudly, shocking himself from his worried tone. Within seconds, before he could act again, she flew from the bed and slammed him against the wall with on arm, the other raised, fingers outstretched and flexed. Her nails had somehow elongated into sharp claws. He grabbed the wrist holding him by his neck futilely, choking and beginning to lose breath.

"KARI!" he hacked. He didn't notice until now that he was raised almost six inches off the ground, and his feet were kicking air in his attempt to get free.

"What's going on in here?" Kitty poked her head through the wall and almost screamed.

"ROGUE, GET IN HERE! HELP ME!" she yelled, jumping through the bookcase and grabbing at Kari's free arm. Rogue came in through the door and gasped at the sight before her.

"We need Logan or some one, I can't get her to let go!" Kitty said, trying to pry Kari's fingers from John's throat. His face was turning pale and he was almost out of breath. Kitty ran out of the room as fast as she could, through the walls and everything. She even passed through Kari's mom's room, making her scream and jump a foot in the air. She went through the wall and into the backyard, screaming for some one to help her at the top of her lungs.

Almost a minute later she had Logan and Storm behind her. Unfortunately, they had to take the backdoor when she went through the walls again, making Kari's mom jump and yell again. When she got back into the room, Rogue was still prying at Kari's fingers, and John was losing energy. He was still kicking, and then he stopped.

"KARI!" Storm yelled once she got in. With an enormous struggle, they managed to pin Kari to the floor after getting her to release her victim, who dropped to his feet, and then fell face first into the carpet.

"John!" Kitty yelled, rushing to sit him up. Logan and Storm still fought to keep Kari on the ground. Logan held her arms as Storm held her legs. She was "growling" almost, and arching her back, trying to thrash and get free. She pulled her feet back and forth, trying to get Storm to release her, as she snapped at Logan's hands, which were iron tight on her wrists. Soon, Jean came in with a small needle, piercing Kari's skin just above her collarbone. Kari arched her back once more with a loud scream/growl, then fell limp and made no response. Jean gave a great sigh and Logan cautiously released her wrists.

Rogue caught her breath and looked at Jean.

"What did you just do?" she asked.

"It's a high dose tranquilizer. I'm not sure if she'll act up again, but this will keep her asleep for at least a few hours." Jean pocketed the needle she had and stood up with a sigh.

"Should I even ask why you have it?" Kitty said, half panting.

"Medical reasons."

John gave a sudden heave and coughed, his eyes springing open. He coughed a bit more and held his throat, shutting his eyes tightly in pain. Kitty held him steady as he tried to breath.

"Are you all right?" Logan asked. John slowly nodded, giving another cough and taking in a deep, wheezing breath.

"What the hell happened?" Kitty asked, looking at Jean, Storm, and Logan in turn.

"I don't know," Jean answered, "But the professor might, once he wakes up."

"Which will be when? She could freak out again!" Rogue exclaimed.

"Not any time soon," Logan commented, nudging Storm, "Hey, help me get her on the bed."

They lifted her gently and set her on her bed, where she still made no response. John stared at her, with a large mixture of confusion, anger, and somehow, hurt.

"Here," Kitty helped him up, "Let's get you some water."

Rogue followed them out the door. Storm gave Kari a cautious glance, then left the room with Jean and Logan in tow. Kari's mom came out of her room curiously.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Its okay, everything's fine." Jean gave her a smile and everyone went into the living room. John was leaning on the counter, his head hanging low as he steadied his breathing to normal instead of sharp wheezing. Kitty patted his shoulder and handed him a glass of water, which he gratefully gulped down quickly.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked in an undertone. He nodded and set the empty glass by the sink. He stood up straight and scratched his head tiredly, messing up his hair again. Wayne came trotting into the kitchen, sniffing around. John gave a tiny smile and bent down to pet him lightly on the head. He rubbed against John's knee and John stood up again, letting out a great sigh.

What the hell just happened? One second she was fine, then the next, she tried to kill him! He looked around the bar of the kitchen and saw Logan carrying the professor outside.

"What are you doing?" Rogue asked. She had now gone back to tending to Bobby, who seemed calm, but was still running a high fever.

"We're taking him to the ship. Jean's going to help him there." Logan exited the house and John walked over to Kitty and Rogue with Wayne heartily trotting at his heels.

"He seems to like you," Kitty laughed.

"Yeah," John said with a sigh, then looked at Rogue, "How's he doing?"

"Better, I guess. He hasn't gotten too bad in the past hour." Rogue laid a damp towel on his forehead.

"That's good," John nodded. He couldn't get Kari off of his mind now. What the hell had she done? Why did she suddenly want to kill him?

He pondered everything he knew, letting it roll over in his mind. She wasn't the girl he knew before. She was suddenly more sensitive, and a lot more, well, like him.

John looked up and suddenly realized he had walked back down the hallway, and was now standing in Kari's doorway, staring at her. She seemed so calm now, but it wasn't five minutes ago she had an intent to rip him apart. He looked at the wall where she had held him. There was a dent there, either from his head or his spine, he didn't know. So much had happen in such little time, he thought. When they first met, they were practically sworn enemies. And it was that way for almost two months. Then suddenly, almost five days later, he was wanting to know so much about her. Almost as if he wanted to…help her.

He shut the door and stood by the bed. He knelt down and stared at her. She seemed so peaceful and content now. She's like a foxfire, was his first thought. It old legends t a Foxfire was meant to help, and be harmless at times, but when angry, could go out of control and turn into a raging firestorm. She was just like that. Caring and thoughtful, but when angry, she could hit you pretty hard.

He smiled and looked at the carpet, then back up at her.

_So what now, Foxfire?_


	11. Memory Loss

Part 10 – Memory Loss

It was eight o' clock when Kari finally woke up, drowsy from the tranquilizer. She sat up, holding her head, wondering what had happened to make her fall asleep. She blinked a few times. It was completely dark in her room, no sunlight left to light it. She set her hand down and cried out. She had apparently set it down on what appeared to be another hand. She fumbled for the light switch, still yelling, making the other whatever it was shout as well. The light flicked on, blinding her. She shrank into the corner of her bed, holding both arms in front of her eyes in agony. Once she lowered them, she sighed and she felt her body slouch from her skepticism.

"God, John, what are you doing in here?" she asked with a frustrated sigh.

"I _was_ sleeping, until you woke up and started screaming." He stood up, stretching his eyes and blinking. As usual, he scratched his head, running hands hand back and forth over his hair and messing it up. Kari smiled in her head. He kept his eyes half open as he turned his head sideways to look at the window, mentally noting it must be dark outside. It was then Kari noticed red marks on the side of his neck.

"What happened to you?" she asked, pointing out the marks. John looked down, expecting to see something.

"No, on your neck," Kari specified.

"Oh," he said. He felt his neck, and then had the whole incident flood back into his mind. His stomach plummeted and he froze.

"Uh," he said, almost stuttering, "Nothing, just a —"

He couldn't think of what to say. Kari cocked an eyebrow. He cleared his throat and tried to stray her off the subject.

"It's nothing," he insisted. He turned his head sharply the other way as raised voices came from the living room. He looked at Kari and they both stood up, coming out of the room. Kari went ahead of him down the hallway and halted so sharply he ran into her.

"Hey!" he exclaimed.

What Kari saw in front of her was the worst she had seen yet. Though it probably wasn't so for John, given he was _involved_ in the last incident.

Bobby was thrashing where he lay, yelling and struggling against Rogue, Storm, Logan, and Jean. He appeared to be yelling out in some form of pain. Then, without warning, he managed to get one arm free from Logan's grip and grab him around the neck. Logan widened his eyes as slow lines of ice started spreading from where Bobby's fingers wrapped around him.

"STORM! JEAN! HELP ME!" he started choking. Storm, strangely enough to Kari, leapt onto Bobby and pried his arm free. Logan was having trouble breathing, seeing as Bobby had almost frozen his throat shut. Not knowing what else to do, Kari ran into the kitchen and turned the faucet onto "hot", filling a glass with hot water. She rushed to Logan, who surprisingly accepted it and started gulping it down, trying to free his throat of the cold. It was now that Bobby started shooting off spurts of ice spontaneously. Kari ducked to the side as a large beam shot at her and hit the wall.

"JEAN, DO SOMETHING!" Rogue yelled.

"WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME?" Jean argued.

"TRANQUILIZE HIM OR SOMETHING!" Kitty yelled. Kari had only just noticed her. She was on Jean's other side, trying to hold down one of Bobby's furiously kicking legs.

"I CAN'T! WE ONLY HAD ONE AND WE USED IT ALREADY!" Jean cried, frustrated.

"When did we have tranquilizers? And who did you use it on?" Kari asked.

Everyone stared at her for a moment. John made a swift movement of his hand slicing across his neck rapidly, motioning for them to not say anything. Logan raised an eyebrow until he felt Bobby's arm smack him sharply under the chin. He was crying out, and everything he touched would freeze instantly.

"How do we stop him?" John asked frantically.

Suddenly, Bobby started hacking. Rogue widened her eyes. He seemed to be choking, or having some type of difficulty breathing. He wheezed and his chest heaved sharply. He stopped struggling against the others, and just fell back onto the couch, breathing fast and panting. Once he stopped, Rogue ran to get him some water, which was soon steadily poured down his throat. His fever started creeping up again and everyone started dampening towels. Kari slouched over exhaustedly.

"I can't take much more of this," she mumbled.

"It's been worse," Kitty muttered.

"What?" Kari asked. Kitty suddenly realized her statement and covered up.

"I mean, well, HE hasn't been worse, I meant — uh — it'll probably GET worse."

John covered his eyes for a second and sighed. He gave her a small glance while shaking his head. Kari noticed and glanced at him. She looked at everyone suspiciously in turn and they all exchanged very slight guilty glances.

"What are you guys not telling me?" she asked slowly.

"Nothing," John insisted.

Almost as though right on cue, the front door made a small click as some one turned the knob and walked in wearing a slightly scruffy suit and holding a stack of rolled up blueprints. John gave a small sigh of relief, even though he didn't know who this stranger was. But Kari recognized him immediately.

"Dad!" she said surprisingly. He froze and dropped his papers all over the floor. He seemed to choke on his words as he tried desperately for the next minute or so to say something. Out of curiosity as to what happened to all of the noise suddenly, Kari's mom came out of her room and gave a great expression of relief at the site of Kari's father. She went to him quickly.

"What is she doing here?" he said out of the corner of his mouth, not taking his eyes off of his daughter. Everyone stood there for another two or three quite minutes as Kari's mom explained the whole situation to him. Or the situation as it was to _her_ knowledge, anyway. With a still shocked and skeptical look, he nodded slowly at her sentences.

"And who on Earth are they?" he asked, continuing to speak out of the corner of his mouth. Another two minutes went by as she explained that as well. Soon, both parents were looking at Kari. She gave a slightly bashful expression and waved slowly.

"Hi dad," she said with a nervous tone.

"Hi," he answered back after a long hesitation.

Another thirty minutes later, Kari's parents had disappeared to their room and hadn't shown themselves again. Bobby was resting, and to everyone's surprise and gratefulness, Professor Xavier had awoken. He wasn't injured at all, and he seemed to be doing just fine. Jean provided him with a wheelchair that had been concealed on the ship, and he was relatively cheerful. By now it was almost nine o' clock, and Kari had confined herself to her computer screen again. Kitty had given Rogue a break, and took care of Bobby while she slept on Kari's bed. The "teachers" were all discussing whatever plans back on the ship, Mystique was resting on the living room floor beside the couch where Bobby lay, and John, strangely enough, was pacing back and forth in the warm night air on the grass in the front yard. He clicked his lighter back and forth with a steady breath, pondering what the hell he was doing there.

"I hear you're quite talented, 'John.'"

He looked up quickly and saw Magneto walking toward him with a friendly smile. John flicked his lighter shut and watched Magneto approach him. He was in the process of putting the lighter in his pocket when it flew out of his hand and into Magneto's.

"Tell me, John. Why are you here?" he asked, flicking the lighter open himself and looking at John through the tiny flame, as it was level with his eye.

"Because the school blew up?" John answered with a sarcastic eyebrow raised.

"No. I mean, why were you at the school in the first place?" Magneto corrected.

"Because I GO there?" he answered. Magneto flicked the lighter shut almost threateningly.

"Your past should not frustrate you, John. The things that are behind you no longer exist, and should not effect what you do now, or what your future holds."

John stared at him.

"You do not belong in a place, or with people that are holding you back. Your power should be free, as should you be to make your own choices. Don't let anyone hold you back. Do what you believe is right, and do things as you want to. Restrictions are useless. A boy like you should be limitless." He handed John back the lighter. John took it with slight skepticism, until his mind actually started registering the meaning of the older man's words.

_People that are holding me back?_

_

* * *

_

Kari rubbed her eyes vigorously and stared at the screen. **"Your Search Did Not Match Any Documents" **was the message glaring at her from the monitor. Taunting her as she dropped her head onto the keyboard, emitting a loud beep from the computer. She sighed and raised her head, covering her eyes in exhaustion.

"What the hell am I supposed to be looking for?" she grumbled to herself, "I've already found all the files I could on this Daren freak. What else is there to know?"

She wanted to quit searching, but she also wanted to continue. The information she had found was useful, but not very much. There had to be more. Something else he was hiding. More information on the virus, or blueprints to his extermination plan. There had to be SOMETHING.

Kari pushed back her chair and dropped her hands into her lap. She stood up and wandered down the hallway in search of something to snack on. She reached the end of the hallway and literally ran into John. They both jumped and backed against the wall to let the other by, saying "Sorry" at the same time. Kari scooted in front of him and watched him turn down the hallway as she went into the living room. She sighed and rubbed both her eyes with one hand. "Dear god," she thought irritably.

"How are you doing?" Kitty asked. Kari looked at her with a skeptical and exhausted expression.

"Swell," she answered, walking slowly into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and sighed. She grabbed an apple stored in one of the drawers and walked back into the living room, munching on it. She saw Kitty look at the hallway as she leaned against the counter. Kitty looked from the hallway to her with slightly raised eyebrows. Kari stopped chewing for a moment.

"What?" she asked.

Not knowing that Kitty was actually considering asking her about attacking John, she raised her eyebrows insistently.

"What?" she repeated when Kitty didn't answer. Kitty blinked suddenly. She suddenly came up with a new suspicion.

"Do you like him?" she asked slowly. Kari almost choked on the apple bits in her mouth. She cleared her throat and coughed.

"JOHN?" she asked back. Kitty nodded. "You're crazy."

"Oh please," Kitty interrupted, "It's practically written on your forehead."

"Oh, give me break." Kari rolled her eyes doubtingly and gave Kitty a cynical stare.

"Saying I like John is like saying you like Bobby," she added. Kitty kind of made a shifty eyed glance at Bobby lying on the couch, then Kari's mouth dropped open.

"You like Bobby!" she practically screamed.

"SHH!" Kitty said warningly.

"Are you serious?" Kari asked with a wide-eyed expression.

"Sort of," Kitty said with a shrug, "I don't know. But hey, if I do, guess who likes John." Kitty added this with a little snicker. Kari stuck her tongue out at her.

"Oh, shut up." Kari walked past a snickering Kitty and went back down the hallway.

_Me like John_, she thought to herself, _She's crazy._

She went back to her computer and half surprisingly found John sitting in the other chair beside her computer.

"I thought you were outside," she said suddenly.

"You don't remember running into me in the hallway?" John asked. He was back to his old nonchalant expression, and _shockingly_, also back to his lighter flicking.

"Oh yeah," Kari said quietly. She shrugged and sat down at her computer, continuing to munch on the apple she held. As she ate, he leaned back in his chair and watched her. She looked out of the corner of her eyes suspiciously.

"What?"

"Do you ever feel," he started, "Like some one's holding you back?"

Kari raised her eyebrows a bit. "Well, I've never really known enough people, let alone have friends, that could possibly be holding me back. You could say I lack the necessities. Why?"

He stayed silent for the next few moments. Kari finished her apple and threw the remains in a trash bin under the desk.

_Well, I guess she wouldn't. She doesn't even know she has a power yet, how COULD she feel like me?_

"Did you ever," he tried, then stopped for a second, then continued, "Did you ever consider what it might be like, if you knew you had mutant powers?"

Kari dropped her hands into her lap and turned her chair towards him.

"John, I'm not going to say it again. I'm not a mutant, I DON'T HAVE ANY POWERS. Period. I'm just…I'm not like any of you."

"But what if you were?" he asked.

"There's no IF. There never will be, that's it. I'm NOT a mutant."

"Just bear with me here, please. What if you were?" he repeated.

Kari sighed and propped her head up on a fist, resting her elbow on the desk.

"Everything would connect," she answered simply. John leaned forward, his lighter open, with the flame lightly swaying back and forth.

"What do you mean?"

"The accident, I guess, the constant chain of events that my parents keep talking about, I don't know. The possibility of a mutant gene is the simplest answer. But I don't accept it. I'm not a mutant. There's no proof, no evidence. I mean, how can a mutant be born from a human family?" she added. John flicked his lighter shut after a pause.

"It is possible." He leaned back in the chair again, staring at his lighter.

"Oh really? Name one mutant with human parents." Kari said challengingly.

"Me," he replied, looking past the lighter and right into her eyes. 


	12. To Washington

Part 11 – To Washington  


"You're…are you serious?"

John nodded.

"It's not just me. It's more common than you think. Me, Bobby, Kitty, Rogue didn't even have a family." John watched the expressions shift on Kari's face. From surprise, to confusion, to pity.

"I-I didn't know, I'm so sorry —" she started rambling.

"Oh, geez, you don't have to apologize for _that._" John shook his head and dismissed the subject. Kari found him suspicious now. It seemed as though he was implying an apology for something else. When he noticed the way she was looking at him, he couldn't help but freeze where he was. As ironic of a statement it was, he did. He sat there, frozen, and stared at the way her eyes seemed to be. This time, they weren't staring at him with anger, or changing to black as they did before. They seemed to be melting into an emotion he never thought she possessed before.

Care.

Then suddenly, a jumble of words emerged from his mouth that he wasn't even sure what their purpose was.

"You really don't remember, do you?" he asked in a slow quiet tone. She continued to watch him with those emotional eyes, until something seemed to snap in his mind. It seemed to slice through the silence, even though it was only in his head.

"_Don't let anyone hold you back."_

_Hold me back?_

Was that what he was talking about? Kari? Nah, that couldn't be. How the hell was _she_ holding him back?

"Remember?' she repeated suddenly. He snapped back to where he was sitting, no longer lost in his mind. He blinked and stared at her.

"John," a sudden voice said. It seemed so loud that it made both him and Kari jump in their seats. Professor Xavier was in the doorway.

"…what?" John said after an awkward pause.

"I'd like to speak with Kari alone." The professor came into the room, leaving the passage to the door free for John to leave.

"Yeah…okay…" John got up slowly, watching Kari for a moment. Then he left them, shutting the door.

"Hi," Kari said, not knowing what else to say.

"Hello," the professor replied with a smile.

"What do you want to talk to me about?" she asked.

"Well, let's start off with, how are you feeling?" he folded his hands into his lap and continued to smile at her.

"A little drowsy, I suppose. I've been on the computer all day." Kari jabbed her thumb at the computer screen and Xavier nodded.

"How have your moods been lately?" he asked. Kari found it sort of a strange question, but she decided to answer forwardly.

"Cynical and bored, mostly." She nodded and the professor nodded to himself.

"Professor, I want to ask you something." He looked up and showed that he was listening.

"Is there something going on that I don't know about?" she asked.

"How do you mean?"

"I feel like everyone's hiding something from me." She tried to make it sound like she wasn't mostly referring to John.

"Well, I can't really say, I've been asleep for the past twelve hours," Xavier said jokingly, "But I could speak to them if you'd like."

"No, no, that's fine. I just…what do you know about memory loss?" she asked randomly.

"Memory loss?" he repeated.

"Have you ever been able to reveal some one's lost memories?" she asked.

"I've helped Logan a bit with his past, but I'm not sure it was really what he was looking for. Why, have you been suppressing memories and you want them back?"

"No, I just…I can't seem to remember what happened about five or six house ago. I just, I remember talking to John, and then a few hours later, I woke up asleep on my bed. I don't know what happened."

"Well —" Professor Xavier was interrupted as none other than John opened the door suddenly.

"Uh, can I talk to you for a second?" he asked him.

"Of course. Excuse me." The professor smiled at Kari and she gave John a. apprehensive glance. He shut the door, leaving Kari in the room utterly confused and sighing.

"What is it?" Xavier asked.

"The memory. Whatever she was talking about, don't tell her anything!" John urged quietly. He had apparently been listening through the door.

"Why not?"

John hesitated and didn't answer. His curiosity getting the better of him, Xavier heard John's thoughts as he delved into his mind.

"She attacked you, did she?" he asked after a pause. John sighed.

"I forgot you could do that," he grumbled.

"Why do you not want her to know this?" Xavier asked.

"Because, I don't want to make her feel guilty or anything."

"What makes you think she would?"

John was shocked at this question.

_He has a point._ He sort of said to himself.

"Whatever, look, I just don't want her to know, okay?"

"Fine." Xavier smiled and opened the door, going back to Kari.

"What was that all about?" she asked.

"Nothing," Xavier insisted with a smile, "Anything else you would like to ask me?"

"Well," Kari said, pondering, "Not really."

"Very well."

With another smile, Professor Xavier exited the room, apparently heading into the living room.

"What did you say to him?" Kari demanded suddenly when John entered.

"Nothing, I just asked him what we're doing next." He seemed innocent enough, Kari decided. Five minutes later, Logan cam in, straightening up his "X-Men" uniform.

"We're going. Hurry up." He said this quickly, then exited as soon as he walked in. Kari was curious if he had even looked at them. Kari and John exchanged glances, then she spun around in her chair, printed out some saved documents, and clicked "Shut Down".

"Where exactly do they think we're supposed to go?" she asked, mostly to herself.

"Wherever it is, we don't have a choice." John stood up and stretched.

"I suppose this means we have to bring Magneto and Mystique as well," Kari added.

"We can't exactly leave them here. I doubt your parents would like the company." John sort of laughed to himself and Kari grabbed her papers from the printer.

"Whatever. Let's just go."

They left the room and went down the hallway.

"Bye Mom. By Dad." Kari had a sort of bored tone when she said this. _A John tone,_ she thought to herself, almost smiling at the strangeness of it. Her parents' bedroom door opened.

"Where are you going?" her mom asked, her face peering from the door.

"Mutant business, I suppose," Kari said. She almost seemed to be mocking them.

"Well," her mom sighed, "Be careful."

"Yeah, sure." Kari came into the living room, where Rogue was already helping Jean and Storm lift Bobby onto a stretcher. Kitty gave Kari a glance, and they both sort of smiled at each. Neither of them knew why, it just seemed appropriate for the time.

Ten minutes later, everyone was loaded into the jet and Storm was firing the engines.

"Everyone strapped in?" she called behind her.

There was a chain of obedient replies along with one "Just a second", and soon they were off. Once they were on a smooth flight, Jean took off her seatbelt and went into the back.

"Kari, come with me." Kari looked at Kitty, who was on her right, and she shrugged. With a cocked eyebrow, she undid her seatbelt and cautiously followed Jean to the back of the plane. There was a sort of table there, with two seats. Jean motioned for Kari to sit in one. She noticed all of the papers she had printed out were laid out on the table, which protruded from the wall of the plane, almost like one of those trays on a normal airplane.

"Okay, here's what we figured out so far. This Daren Richardson you've found, he's a "primary suspect", so to speak. He's the one who administered the drugs to Bobby and Mystique. He has military control, how much, we're not sure, but they're guns are loaded with what we think is a new high dose of the virus."

"So it's even worse?" Kari asked, frightened.

"Unfortunately, yes. But, Storm and I have done some research ourselves, and we're working on a possible vaccine for the virus. We just _might_ be able to cure Bobby and Mystique. And thanks to that new printout you found just before we left —" she held up one of the sheets, "— we've put together a chemical compound to test."

"That's good, right?" Kari asked.

"Pretty much. So, we're heading a building in southern Washington D.C., there's a researcher there that we're going to talk to."

"Is he a mutant?" Kari asked.

"Yes, which is good for _us_, because we won't have any information leaking out to Richardson. This mutant is going to hold Bobby and Mystique in his lab and take care of them while we work other things out. When we get there, I need you to do me a favor."

"Which is?" Kari asked.

"Exactly how good are you at computer hacking?" Jean asked, setting down the sheet in her hand.


	13. The Favor

Part 12 – The Favor

"We're here!" Storm said in a half sarcastic, half joking, fake cheerful voice.

"Thank GOD," Kitty sighed. Unlike Kari, who was constantly being pulled from her seat to chat with Jean or the professor, she had been strapped into her seat the whole trip. Her legs were stiff and her tailbone was sore. When they landed on a pad behind a tall building, and there was a loud metallic _THUNK_, she undid her seatbelt and practically jumped to her feet. Or she would have, if her legs didn't hurt so badly.

"Now, seeing as we _are_ technically still your teachers, I'm making a few rules." Jean got up from her seat. When they landed, Kari was still in the back with her discussing a plan. Kari now stood up with a great sigh, stacked the pile of papers up and held them under her arm. Jean stood at the front of the plane, looking at Kitty, John, and Rogue in particular.

"Don't wander, if the professor, Storm, Logan, Scott, or myself place you somewhere or in a room, stay there until we come back or state otherwise."

Kari suddenly remembered Scott was with them. And apparently so did the others, because they all looked around until they spotted him and gave sort of an "Oh, yeah" expression afterwards.

Jean stated a few other simple rules, but the main one was pretty much just stay where you were told and don't touch anything. They all lined up and left the ship. Magneto levitated Mystique on a stretcher in front of him as they walked, and Logan and Scott carried Bobby on another. They entered the building through one of the sliding doors, and they were all greeted with a blast of cold air.

"Charles Xavier," said a voice with a small chuckle.

"Hank McCoy."

Kari almost wanted to step backward every time this man took a step forward. Around six feet tall, he was also covered in a large mass of bright blue fur, covering almost every inch of his body, yet he was wearing a Lab Doctor's coat like a human being. Kari felt bad for thinking of him as abnormal. She knew he had a right to do whatever he wanted with himself like anyone else. His appearance was just…almost frightening. He had sharp teeth and pointed ears on the sides of his head, but his smile seemed friendly as he shook the professor's small hand. Well, small compared to _his_, that is.

"Thank you for taking us in on such short notice." Xavier said in gratitude.

"Oh, no problem, I promise." Hank smiled warmly and looked behind Xavier.

"Is this Bobby Drake?" he asked, walking around the man. Kari swallowed hard, commanding herself not to fear him. To study Bobby, he basically had to stand right next to her, and her heart was beating like a drum in a heavy metal band.

"He's has the same symptoms as my other patients. I assume it's the virus?" Hank asked, to anyone in particular. Somehow out of instinct, Kari replied with a small "Yes", her voice almost cracking from anxiety. Hank looked over his shoulder and turned to her. Because of his height, she almost wanted to cower in the corner, but realizing she would have had to back into several people, including John and Magneto, prevented her from doing so.

"You must be Kari," he said with a small chuckle. Kari saw Jean nod out of the corner of her eye. "I've heard a lot about you. If you don't mind, I'd like to speak with her when you're all settled in."

"After we meet, of course," Xavier added. Hank gave another nod and a smile, then led them down the hallway. He opened a door already labeled with a small plaque that read _Robert Drake_. Hank opened the door gently and was soon helping lower Bobby onto a small hospital bed.

"I'll need to perform some tests, if you don't mind. Soon enough, I believe we'll find a cure." Hank gave them all a reassuring smile. Around fifteen minutes later, Kari, Rogue, John, and Kitty were sitting in what appeared to be a waiting room. Scott, Logan, Jean, Storm, Xavier, and Magneto had followed Hank down another hallway, apparently to discuss matters beyond the need of the students.

"Do you think Bobby will be okay?" Rogue asked to the silence.

"He'll be fine. Dr. McCoy seems like a professional." Kitty gave her a comforting rub on the back.

"Hey," Kitty asked," Why was Dr. Grey talking to you on the plane?"

Kari looked up after a long pause when she realized Kitty was talking to her.

"What? Oh, she just — wanted to ask me about any other information I found." Kari leaned back in her chair. After another long silence, there was the almost dignified sound of a metallic _click_ from where John sat, soon beginning a long stream of rhythmic clicks. Strangely enough, it seemed to calm Kari down. She was becoming nervous from what she was about to do for Jean and the others. Her heart was still beating fast when Storm came quietly down the hallway. She walked into the room, making Kitty and Rogue look up. Kari continued to stare at John's lighter, as he stared at her. Her expression consisted of anxiety, which was being invaded by calm, trying to dominate. John was confused at this odd mix of sentiments, but he kept his eyes on her, as she kept her eyes on the motion of his hand flicking the lighter open.

"Kari?" Storm put a hand on Kari's shoulder, making her cry out in panic and jump. Storm pulled her hand away, startled.

"Sorry," Kari said quickly, taking a breath and swallowing hard. John wasn't startled like the others. Kitty and Rogue had jumped themselves from the sudden rise of noise. Kari stood up and let Storm take her down the hallway. John's eyes watched her, and she could somehow feel them even as she turned the corner and was well away from the room.

"You understand what we need you to do, right?" Storm asked.

"I'm not going to get in trouble, am I? They won't track me down or anything, or try to kill me, or charge me with some ridiculous law?" Kari rambled.

"No, you're fine. Scott safe-proofed the computer, so it has no signal to track." Storm opened a door to a nice room with a desk, atop it a computer. There were two large chairs in two corners of the room, and a table with a coffee machine.

"Whose room is this?" Kari asked curiously.

"It _was_ Dr. McCoy's office, but he's agreed to let you use it for the time being. He's set up another room for himself."

"How did you manage to disable a signal from the computer?" Kari asked.

"Well, we didn't exactly disable it, we copied a code string from one of the data files of Dr. McCoy. He has access to certain government documents, so for the most part, this is legal." Storm made a sheepish smile.

"For the most part?" Kari repeated, "Does he have access to the files we're looking for?"

"No, from what we know, the only people who do are the president, Daren Richardson, and two or three of his assistants. That's pretty much it."

Kari took a deep breath and booted up the computer.

"I admit I'm great with computers, but I've never hacked federal government files before." Kari slightly chuckled nervously to herself.

"I understand it will take time. Take a long as you need. As long as we have a place to stay here, we've got all the time in the world. Have fun." Storm gave Kari an almost proud smile before exiting the room. She felt like she was being tested, she thought. But, if it would help Bobby…she sighed. The screen of the computer kicked on and a window popped up.

"**ENTER ACCESS CODE:"**

As a cliché, Kari typed "McCoy".

"ACCESS DENIED"

Kari shrugged. Of course, that would be too obvious. She thought. She shrugged again and typed several versions of his name, getting granted each time with the ACCESS DENIED message. She stared at it as though it was a battle.

_Come on Kari, you're smarter than this._

She continued to stare with slightly narrowed eyes at the screen blaring ACCESS DENIED.

_Come on, think. This isn't that hard._

"Wait a second," she whispered pretty much to the air, "Hank McCoy?"

She racked her brain. She remembered reading something about him. He had a mutant alias, what was it? It started with a "B"…

She tapped her fingers lightly on the keyboard. Suddenly she slowly typed B-E-A-S-T. There was a light beep and…

"ACCESS GRANTED"

Kari crossed her arms triumphantly and let the rest of the modem load while she stood up to take advantage of the coffee machine at the back of the room. After pouring herself a nice steaming cup, she sat back down and thought of where to start. She had only really hacked things like website mainframes to learn how they worked. She had never actually tried to hack into government files. Right now it seemed almost impossible. She took a light sip from her coffee, set it down on the desk, and opened a few document files to get started.

* * *

"So far all we've established are some of the chemical compounds of the virus. We've laid out a _possible_ cure, which really only consists of the chemical opposites. We're hoping that might be able to counter the virus, but we're not sure."

Jean and Storm had been explaining their discoveries to Dr. McCoy, who listened intently with his hands folded and his chin rested upon them.

"And also," Storm added, "From the files Kari had printed out, we've found out who is most likely behind the administration of the virus."

"Who?" Hank asked.

"Daren T. Richardson, head of all anti-mutant protests in eight different states for the past ten years. Forty-seven in all." Storm handed him a profile with a photo of Daren printed in the corner. Hank raised his eyebrows and read over the profile.

"He's been arrested a total of twenty-five times," Jean added. Hank whistled.

"So you have quite a catch on this guy," he commented.

"According to what Kari read, he's been known to have meetings with the president about obscuring the rights of mutants, and possibly arresting them to be kept in custody, and no longer a 'harm to society.'" Logan said this in monotone.

"Damn," Hank snorted, "So he's a pretty tough fighter, I assume?"

"I'm sure more than we think," Jean agreed.

"And where is Kari now?" Dr. McCoy asked, looking over the top of the paper.

"We send her on that errand, and she working on it right now."

"So what exactly do you want her to find?"

"We're hoping she can find some file documented maybe by the president, to the authorization of the attack on our school, the administering of the virus, and what might be a possible mutant extermination." Jean looked at Storm and Hank leaned back in his chair.

"This is more serious than we comprehended," Xavier commented in a serious tone. Everyone looked at him. 


	14. Ten Seconds

Part 13 – Ten Seconds

Two hours later, when it was almost six in the morning, Kari was pretty much chugging coffee to keep herself awake. Every once in a while, Storm, Jean, or one of the adults would poke their head in and ask how her progress was coming. She would always reply with an "I'm working on it" or "Fine".

And just as she expected, some one poked their head in and asked how she was doing. Again she replied with, "I'm working on it" except it was almost in a snapping tone. After around two minutes, she realized the person was still standing there. She turned and looked at him, then back at the computer, then did a double take.

"John, hi." She said, startled. He gave her a small smile and walked into the room almost in a sneaky way.

"Hey, how are you doing?" he asked again.

"I'm just…working." She sighed and exited out of a document, then had a small code bar come up, where she typed what John thought to be random numbers and letters, but something popped up and said "ACCESS TO FILE 1506DR9" made him raised his eyebrows.

"That's not what I meant. I meant how are _you_ doing?" he corrected himself. She glanced at him and dropped her hands from the keyboard.

"I honestly don't know. All of the sudden I feel like the spotlight's on me and everyone wants me to find stuff for them, they all act like I'M the one with all of the answers!"

"You're pressured?"

"YES!" Kari said in a frustrated sigh, sinking into her chair.

"I mean, I don't mind _helping_, I just feel _used._" She rubbed her tired eyes and looked at him. He was standing and looking down at her. He seemed too tall, almost menacing, but his face didn't show it. Kari suddenly realized it at that moment. It was something odd. Was it the fact John had come to see her? No. It was the way he was looking at her. And that led to her second realization.

He had become her most trusted friend in less than forty-eight hours.

He knelt down until he was pretty much eye level with her.

"Can I help at all?" he asked. Kari looked to the side, then gave an exhausted smile.

"You can find me some food," she said, half joking, half serious.

"Like what?" he asked, smiling.

"I don't know, something to just eat, I'm starving."

"How about this? Let's get Kitty and Rogue, and we all go to breakfast."

"Because the teachers will totally let us do that," Kari mumbled, rolling her eyes.

"I'll make them. Come on, get up." John stood up with a smile.

"Too tired to get up," Kari mumbled with a tired laugh. John sighed and grabbed her hands. She was surprised as he pulled her to her feet. It was the first time he had ever touched her and not meant to hit her in the process. She was so close to him at this point that she finally realized how tall he really was. He wasn't too tall, and he wasn't the same height as her, as she always thought. They had never been this close, so she could never really tell.

Not realizing that he was still holding onto both of her hands, he stared at her. Both of their expressions were of surprise and somehow, comfort. There was a long silence, where they both just stood there, seeming to be at a loss of what to do next.

Kari's mind seemed to leave her body, until she felt one tiny bit of feeling come back. And it all rushed to feeling of her hands. She thought it strange, that her mind would focus on such a thing. But when she subconsciously described it, it somehow made her feel…indescribable. The way she noticed how his hands were one hers, the way they seemed to comfort her. She could somehow feel a smile through his fingers, like he was smiling and she could tell just by the feeling of his hands. She was being sent a rush of emotions, most she had never felt before, and the rest she least expected to be revealed by him. Then all at once, she wanted time to freeze. That was her only thought suddenly. She wanted time to freeze, and she never wanted him to let go. She also felt like that had happened. The silence between them lasted for what felt like hours, and for a moment, she considered the possibility that it had.

All through the time she was pondering this, in John's mind, he was almost panicking. Half of him kept telling him in an almost deafening alarm "Awkward, awkward, let go, let go, LET GO!" while the other half of him was calmly saying nothing. Though the alarm in his head was becoming a logical solution, he wanted to follow the silence. Without saying anything at all, it was telling him to stay there, to keep that eye contact, to let them fall into each other's eyes as they were. Then another third part of him simply asked, "What are you doing?" while he panicked. While these three parts continued to ask him, and command, and mock him, he somehow managed to silence them, until he was left with a blank mind, and just like Kari, he was left with only the feeling of his hands, and hers in contact with them. He acted as though they were the most delicate treasure in the world. In a rush, he wanted to hold them as tight as he could and never let them leave his grip, and he wanted to carefully handle them and make sure they were never harmed. He felt confused, and for the first time in his life, protective. For one reason or another, he did not know, but he felt a strong care for her now, and a sudden hidden anger towards anyone that hurt her.

So blatantly, they were both struggling about whether to break this connection, or to leave it as it was, confusing and almost enchanting them both. Kari swallowed, not realizing any motion she did. All that was on her mind was what the consequences would be if she so much as twitched her hands. She was unaware of whether she was breathing or not, she had forgotten she was standing, and she was completely oblivious to where she was. Every nerve she had had been transferred to her fingers. She was beginning to forget if she even knew how to speak. The fact that all of this was being caused by a simple touch was only becoming a subconscious realization. But she wasn't comprehending that. And now, she was focusing on how John's eyes seemed to beckon her.

Though this seemed to both of them to practically last hours, in reality it was only near ten seconds, and it was now interrupted by Logan walking in to check on how Kari's errand was going. John nearly jumped out of his skin, immediately letting go of Kari's hands as though they were now as hot as fire. Kari then jumped herself from the sudden movement, and swallowed again, taking in a deep breath and looking at Logan, who now had a raised eyebrow and a suspicious gleam in his eye.

"How's your uh — research coming?" Logan asked, raising both eyebrows now.

"Fine," Kari said in a rushed tone, "Fine, I was just — taking a break."

"Oh, really?" Logan questioned with a sardonic tone peppered into his voice, "Well, before you go back to _work_, Dr. McCoy would like to talk to you."

"Okay," Kari answered, swallowing again in a nervous manner. Her heart was hammering in her chest and she couldn't seem to calm herself down.

"Actually, I was going to ask you about a break, um," John stepped over to Logan and asked him about the breakfast idea.

"No. Absolutely not." Logan started walking out of the room.

"Aw, come on, PLEASE?"

Kari watched John practically chase the man out of the room and disappear. She let out a nervous and unsteady breath, collapsing into her chair.

"What…the hell…just happened…?" she said to herself, putting a hand to her forehead and staring at the ground. What had she just done? And what was that feeling? Why did she think all of those things? Her heart was beginning to beat faster and her breathing was going off key. She kept trying to tell herself to calm down, but it wasn't working. She sat there alone for another five minutes, trying to command herself to quite freaking out. When John finally walked in with another one of his bored looks, she felt like her heart was going to break from her chest.

"Okay, I convinced them to let us go, but we have to be back by noon." He stopped and stared at her. "Are you okay?"

Kari nodded quickly, not wanting to make him think she was scared because of that. Such a stupid incident, and she was having a panic attack about it. She almost hit herself.

"So, are you going to come or what?" He was acting like that ten seconds had never happened. Easy for him, she thought in the back of her head. He had no idea what was happening to her, and now that she mentioned it, neither did _she_.

"Just…give me like, ten minutes, okay?" She swallowed once again, noticing her mouth was becoming dry. He gave her a small nod, and then walked out of the room calmly. What Kari didn't notice was that once he left the room, he went right down the hallway and started having one of his own panic attacks, mentally screaming "Oh crap!" over and over again. He gave himself a cooling breath and told himself to just be calm and go tell Kitty and Rogue they were going out for breakfast. Okay. Nothing weird is going to happen, everything's fine.

_Everything is SO not fine,_ he snapped in his head.

_So you like her, big deal,_ answered another voice.

_I DO NOT,_ he argued instantly.

_Then what was that back there?_ he asked himself.

_Nothing, that's what. It never happened, now just shut up and go get the others._

He took a long breath through his nose, and went down another hallway. He would get the others, but first he wanted a talk with Professor Xavier.

Back in McCoy's office, Kari was beginning to think she would never relax. "Why is this happening to me?" she whispered, completely panicking.

* * *

"She has a rare DNA deformity, which has been created mostly by her mutant gene intruding," Charles explained to Hank. It was only them meeting, the others were securing things on the jet and making sure everything was settled before they situated things inside.

"Her emotion pattern," he continued, "Has been greatly increased, which can allow certain complications, so to speak. When introduced with a common emotion, her reaction can be greatly intensified. For example, anger. She can feel frustration with a certain incident, and suddenly be overcome with rage, which can cause her to be a danger to others around her. Another example of that is her attack on John back at her house. I believe she was recalling the accident the caused her parents to send her away. Her anger towards this accident could have excelled at that moment, without her realizing it. She told me herself she recalled none of it. She simply said that she remembered talking to John, then suddenly waking up in her bed nearly four hours later."

"So during the emergence of an emotion, her tolerance can excel?" Hank questioned.

"At an amazing rate, yes. Within seconds, she can become, if you don't mind, a potential demon. What I obtained from John's mind was she was telling the story of her accident, and not ten seconds later was she holding him by the throat in an attempt to choke him to death."

"Incredible," Hank commented to mostly himself.

"And because of her, if you please, hidden lifestyle, where she had no friends, there are some emotions she has yet to experience. And with her powers at this age, there's no telling what could happen. When she feels happiness, she seems like the most normal child I have ever seen. She's overcome with excitement and joy. When overcome with anger, she becomes filled with rage and soon becomes what I believe to be her mutant form."

"Mutant form?" McCoy repeated.

"John's description of her when she attacked him was incredible. The image of her was unbelievable. Her eyes were black, her nails had grown to the length of tiger claws, she practically had fangs!"

"So, what do you think her full form is?"

"According to John's nickname of her," Xavier said with raised eyebrows, "a fox."


	15. Don't Tell

Part 14 – Don't Tell

Dr. Hank McCoy was seconds away from asking another question when Professor Xavier turned his head and saw John standing in the doorway with a bewildered stare.

"John!" he said, actually seeming surprised.

"Is all of that true?" John asked after a pause. Hank looked at Charles, who seemed reluctant with his answer.

"John you must understand that she cannot know this," he said at once.

"Why not? I think she pretty damn well deserves to know!" John said, his voice rising so suddenly that Hanks gave Charles a frightened glance out of the corner of his eye.

"Please keep your voice down, John, listen to me. She's not ready to accept this yet. If you truly heard everything I've said, then you know how much of an effect this could have on her. She could do something to harm anyone around her, possibly herself!"

John took a deep breath and decided to ask a question.

"I'm not one to analyze complex information such as that, but I'd like you to put this in simple terms. What exactly is she capable of?"

The way he said the last sentence seemed dramatic to Dr. McCoy, and he said it slowly enough to where even Professor Xavier was completely focused on him.

"Out of all of the information I have, I can tell you her powers as of now. She has a low tolerance for one basic emotion, anger. When this emotion excels to an intense state of rage, she becomes a basic attacking machine. Her mutant form is what I believe to be a certain form of a fox."

John stood there with an expression of shock. All of that hidden inside a fifteen-year-old girl? How is that possible?

"She is very dangerous John," Charles finished, "that's the part you must understand."

"Dangerous? How? The only way I would find her dangerous is if she found out you were hiding this from her!" he argued.

"Please promise me you won't tell her." Charles gave him a sincere look, and he hesitated. He had flashes in his head of being up against the wall, held by her fist as she attempted to kill him. Another image of her sleeping on her bed, completely unaware of what she had done. Another image of not ten minutes ago, when they were both frozen, locked onto each other's eyes.

"Fine." He said, turning around and heading back down the hallway. He felt a pang of guilt as he said it. How could he not tell her this? The only thing he wished her not to know was the attack on him in the bedroom. He knew how guilty it would make her feel, and with what he just learned, strong emotions were not a good idea.

But then something else struck him.

_She's also emotionally crazy._

He kind of leaned toward that thought, but then he sort of scolded himself for calling her crazy. Like it was _her_ fault. She didn't ASK to be a mutant. From the impression he got, she only wanted to be normal. He approached the room where Kitty was lightly snoozing in her chair and Rogue was just beginning to doze off.

"Guys?" he asked, trying not to startled them. Rogue popped her eyes open and Kitty drowsily opened one eye.

"After much deliberation," John started with a small smile, "I convinced the teachers to let us go for breakfast. What do you say?"

"Count me in. I hate this place." Kitty immediately got up and practically bounded towards him. Rogue gave a shrug and explained that if it would take her mind off of Bobby, she was willing to go. They both stopped and stared at him.

"Are you feeling okay?" Kitty asked spontaneously.

"Yeah, why?" he answered, hoping none of his confusion or frustration was showing.

"You seem tense," Rogue answered.

"Just tired, I guess." He turned around, not noticing Kitty and Rogue exchanging glances, and they followed him down the hallway. Expecting him to lead them out of the building, they became confused when they just turned down another hallway.

"Where are we going?" Rogue asked.

"To get Kari," he answered. Kitty rolled her eyes to herself and Rogue stayed quiet after that. John was the first to see the entrance to McCoy's office, where Kari was. He was also the first to look around the doorframe and see her wide-eyed and trembling in her seat. Out of instinct, he held out an arm to stop Rogue and Kitty in their tracks. He stepped into the room quickly and went to Kari's side.

"John, I don't know what's going on, I can't stop shaking and I can't calm down!" she said in a shaky, panicking voice.

"Okay," he said, trying to think of a solution, "Are you cold?"

"Yes, I'm cold, very cold." She said this in a stuttering shaky voice.

That was how he noticed her arms wrapped around herself, and her fingers tightly gripping the sides of her arms, her nails creating red marks that she probably didn't know were causing her pain.

"Jacket, jacket, sweater," he started rambling, "Oh."

He remembered he had grabbed a coat from the jet when they boarded last. He pulled it off quickly and put it over Kari's shoulders. Despite how much this was frightening the other two girls, they couldn't help but exchange tiny smiles and giggle to themselves silently.

"Okay, let's get outside, it should be warmer. Okay?" he looked at her. She kept her round eyes staring at the floor.

"What's wrong with her?" Kitty asked as John helped her up and they walked her out the door.

"It's not the virus is it?" Rogue asked quickly.

"NO, it's not the virus," John almost snapped.

"Then what's wrong?"

"I'll explain later, let's just get her outside."

Surprisingly enough, when they stepped into the warm air, Kari calmed down mostly. Her shaking stopped and she ceased her nervous swallowing. She seemed dizzy, so Kitty helped her walk and John kept yelling at himself in his head, arguing about the fact she wanted to know what was wrong, and the fact that she had a right to know, but some stupid promise was keeping him from fulfilling that wish. He was seconds away from screaming "Screw it" as Kari claimed she wasn't cold anymore. Rogue and Kitty tried as hard as they could not to mention that fact that she _said_ she wasn't cold, but she haven't given John back his jacket. He took a very long, deep breath, and let it out slowly, clenching and unclenching his hands timidly. Once he relaxed (but very little) he explained Jean had told him about a restaurant close to the building to go to, and she didn't want them going any farther than that.

"Do we have money?" Rogue realized.

John pulled out his wallet as they turned a corner and found a small coffee house they all assumed to be the restaurant.

"Why in the world do you have money?" Kitty asked.

"It's old," was his only response as he opened the door to the coffee house. It wasn't crowded, thankfully, a few people eating waffles and sipping their mugs here and there, but that was about it.

"Four?" a tiny waitress said, walking up to them with menus.

"Yes," John answered, surprising the three girls with his sudden tone of politeness.

They were led to a booth meant to sit four average sized adults and handed menus once they were settled.

"Can I start you off with some drinks?" the waitress asked nicely.

"Coffee," John said automatically. Kitty ordered the same and Rogue asked for orange juice. Kari answered with a tiny "Water" and they all stared at their menus while Kari's eye twitched suddenly. She shut her eyes tightly and set her head in her hand, leaning her elbow on the table.

"What's wrong now?" Rogue asked.

"Headache," Kari muttered uneasily, rubbing her temple lightly. Everyone set down their menus once they decided whatever they were going to order, and Kari lightly dropped her head onto the table with a dull _thud._ Kitty looked at John, who exchanged glances with Rogue.

"Some one tell me what's wrong with me," Kari moaned into the hardwood. The other two girls immediately shot a look at John, who mouthed, "I can't!"

They both mouthed back, "Why not?"

They had a silent mouthing argument until all three of them looked at Kari, who was sitting up, giving them all a tired and dull expression. When their drinks arrived, and they gave their orders to the waitress, Kari gulped down her ice water quickly, hoping it would subside her headache. When she noticed everyone was giving her side-glances, she leaned into the corner of the booth and gave in.

"Okay, one of you is not telling me something." She gave them all suspicious eyes. She saw John looking the guiltiest, and raised her eyebrows at him.

"John?"

"What?" he asked involuntarily.

"What are you guys not telling me? You've been like this since we were at the house. I want to know what's going on." Kari crossed her arms. Apparently her headache had disappeared and she was no longer dizzy or scared. John felt a small spark of panic in the back of his head.

_Don't get her frustrated, don't get her frustrated._

"Nothing happened at the house. And we don't know anything about whatever happened just now. Ask John. He won't even tell us." Kitty looked at John when she said his name. She said it with some sort of emphasis that made him narrow his eyes.

"I love how you guys are totally blaming me for everything, thanks, I appreciate it." He gave Kitty a sarcastic smile.

"John, tell me what's going on," Kari demanded.

"I can't," he answered.

Kitty and Rogue took this as some sort of signal, and they both stood up. John had to stand up to let Rogue out of the booth. Once he sat back down they both headed for the bathroom.

"I love how much support I'm getting as well," he commented quietly to himself.

"John, I want to know what's going on. No one's telling me anything, and according to _them_, you hold all the cards. So spill it."

John gave her an apologetic look.

"Well, the only thing I can tell you is that I'm not _supposed_ to tell you," was his vague response.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kari asked.

"Professor Xavier told me that it's not safe for you to know, I don't know." John shrugged and Kari raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, so this is Xavier's fault?"

"No, that's not — okay look. You're not supposed to know. I don't know why, but I just found out, and he told me not to tell you anything."

"How did you 'find out'?" she asked with now narrowed eyes.

"I overheard him talking to Dr. McCoy," he answered simply.

"Why was he talking to Dr. McCoy?"

"WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME! I DON'T KNOW!" John yelled. There was a long awkward line of silence, even the rest of the restaurant fell under its command.

"And you know, I'd like to know some things myself. One second, you act like my friend, and the next you're yelling at me to leave you alone. What the hell is up with that? And I try to help you, and you push me away! I want to help you Kari, but if you won't let me, what the hell am I supposed to do, huh? TELL ME THAT!" John was staring at her with a small anger in his eyes that Kari had never seen before. She was shocked, and somewhere in her mind, hurt from his words.

"I can't answer any of that, because I honestly don't know either. That's the difference between us. You know, and I don't. I can't answer any question you have because I don't have the answer to them. Maybe if you gave _me_ a few answers, I could. But you're refusing to tell me, so by your lack of response, you'll remain confused. There's the conclusion to that problem."

Letting her intelligence get the best of her, this explanation spewed from her mouth before she could stop it. Once again, John seemed like he was back at the school, listening to her spout off her vocabulary in an attempt to insult him. He knew her conclusion was correct, but there was a battle in his head about it, and he refused to let her be right. She suddenly fell soft again, and her voice spoke with calm now.

"Look, John, I want an answer from you, and I know you have it. But what I want right now is the answer to this: Why are you keeping it from me?"

John was at a loss of words at this point. He watched her face stare at him, mixed with sincerity and trust, and just the look in her eyes of an innocent girl wanting to know the truth. He felt himself being overcome with the urge to tell her, while another part of him fought, screaming in him to just keep his mouth shut.

_It's not safe John! Telling her is a bad idea, don't do it! She can hurt you!_

_But…I can't just…_

"John?"

_Don't! —_


	16. Interrogation

Part 15 – Interrogation

All at once, John's breath caught in his throat, his chest heaved in an attempt to breath, and he began to shake all over. Every time he tried to speak, his mouth would move rapidly, but no sound would emerge.

"I'm not some cop asking for secret information here, John. I'm a friend asking for an answer."

Kari was leaning forward on the table now, watching him. He was leaning back as far as he could in the seat, practically pushing backwards, hoping to fall through, like Kitty. He wished he could phase through it. He shook his head suddenly and shut his eyes.

"No, I don't want you to — just — no. I can't. You'll — you're not ready." He babbled.

"Not _ready_?" Kari repeated in disbelief.

"Okay, this is it. This is all I'm going to tell you, and you better accept it, because I won't say anymore." He suddenly swallowed, almost mimicking her actions before, and stared at her with a gleam of seriousness.

"It's better than nothing, I suppose. What?"

"I want to tell you, I know that you deserve to know, but I _can't._ It might lead to things that might — no. That's not right. Look. Because of — who you are, it's not safe — to tell you." It seemed like incoherent information as soon as it registered to Kari. She shook her head.

"I'm not buying it. You're telling me, now." She said this with a demanding voice that he almost couldn't deny.

"I CAN'T!" he said loudly.

"WHY NOT?" she argued in a louder voice.

"Okay, put yourself in my position right now. Let's use some sort of scenario." He leaned forward on the table so he could talk in a low voice.

"You're twelve. A happy life with your parents and your family. The best life you can ever think of. Then one day, you find out things aren't as normal as they seem. You can change fire in any way you want. Make it as big or small as you want, make it _go_ anywhere, make it _do anything_. Scared at first, but once you get excited about it, and tell your parents, everything shatters. That _one tiny piece of information_ has ripped your life apart. Just because of who you are, people reject you. Suddenly you're a danger to everyone, and they shun you just for being different."

As Kari listened to this, she noticed how his eyes changed as his story progressed. It was first seriousness, then concern, and now sadness. She began to almost understand.

"If you could go back, and change the fact that this information was delivered, wouldn't you want to?" he asked quietly.

"So — if you tell me what I want to know — it might ruin my life?" she asked in a slightly skeptical manner.

"Possibly," he answered.

"Okay, now I want you to see _my_ point of view. Imagine _this._" She shifted in her seat slightly, and then began.

"From the beginning of your life, as long as you could remember, your parents would keep you from doing certain things, going certain places. When you thought this was just a rule of the family, you suddenly realize they were keeping something from you. Some type of secret that every time you asked, they would either ignore you or punish you for asking. You were constantly jumping from school to school over things you couldn't even remember, and you were afraid to ask your parents about it. Until one day, just because of some accident in a science classroom, your parents are suddenly the scared ones. They send you away for a reason that you don't know."

John stared at her.

"You _knew_ why you were sent away, you _knew_ why people didn't want you there. I don't. All I know is the fact my parents hate me for something, something that they're afraid of, and something they won't even tell me. You know why. And all I'm asking is for you to fill in a blank that would solve everything I've ever wanted to know. Tell me John, please. All I want to know, is why people are scared of me. Why people have regarded me as something I'm not, something that they assume. Tell me, _please._ Why was my life destroyed?"

John continued to stare at her, until he noticed his eyes were stinging from holding back what felt like gallons of emotions ready to explode. He swallowed again in a very Kari-ish manner, and realized that he was the one being taught. In the beginning it was him teaching her why he couldn't tell her. And now he was being lectured on why he should. And the second lesson seemed like the most logical thing in the world.

"You're —" he started, his voice cracking a bit. He swallowed dryly again and took in a deep breath.

"You're a mutant." His voice had the simplest tone to it, as though it was the answer all along. In reality it was, but she still didn't want to believe it. She shook her head, keeping her eyes fixed on him.

"You're lying," she accused.

"No," he said, almost arguing. As Kari watched his eyes, never moving, never even flicking to the side, she saw a new character emerge.

Truth.

She suddenly widened her eyes, slowly.

"Are…are you…serious?"

"When I went to get the other girls, I stopped by to see Professor Xavier. I wanted to talk to him —"

"— about me?" Kari asked quickly, her voice vaguely accusing.

"Yes, about you. I wanted to find out if I could help you…or something. I don't know. I just overheard him talking to Dr. McCoy, and I just stood there. I didn't think it was true, and when I was going to leave, Professor Xavier told me I wasn't allowed to tell you. And I told him you had a right to know, but he said it would be dangerous."

"Why?" Kari asked after a pause.

"Because of what your mutant power is," he answered. He already felt something creating a lump in his throat, and he wanted to stop talking. He knew he had already said too much.

"Which is?" Kari said, waving a hand.

"That's it. I can't tell you anymore." John stood up and went to walk out of the restaurant. Both of them didn't know the Kitty and Rogue had both of their heads peeking out of the bathroom door watching them. After they saw Kari run after John out of the restaurant, they exchanged glances and went back to the table.

"John, you can't run away from me!"

"WATCH ME!" he yelled, trying to avoid her by crossing the street. He knew even though this seemed like a mild argument, it was a bold move. One wrong sentence could lead to another attempt on his life. Even though he knew this, he kept on walking.

"JOHN!" Kari picked up her speed and practically ran for him. She grabbed his shoulder and he pushed her hand away, surprising her as he swung around and got up close to her face.

"Your DNA is altered from the mutant gene. It's intensified your emotional tolerance, meaning any small emotion could become a big problem. You could go insane just by being frustrated over something. THAT'S why he thinks it's dangerous. HAPPY?" He screamed the last part in her face and she kept her eyes as wide as marbles.

"That's why you didn't want to tell me?" she finally asked in an almost skeptical tone. "How does that answer my problem? That doesn't explain anything about my accident, or why my parents threw me out."

"That's because that's not all of it," he said, in a "duh" manner.

"What else is there?" she asked, raising her hands in a question.

"When your emotional level gets to a certain point, it triggers something and you turn into this…monster thing, I don't know. He's afraid if I told you, you would get angry, or scared, and turn into whatever it is you do, and hurt some one!"

"Do I look like a monster right now?" she asked, dropping her arms limp at her sides and narrowing her eyes sarcastically. John covered his eyes and sighed.

"NO."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

"And how does this answer what happened to me when we left the building? Why I was panicking?"

"Your anxiety level was triggered, I suppose." John shrugged and felt the lump in his throat get bigger.

"How the hell could that happen?" Kari asked.

"I don't know. Wait…" He looked like he was thinking. He crossed his arms and looked at the ground for a moment.

"Have you ever —" he started. He shook his head. "No…"

"What?"

"I need to talk to Kitty and Rogue. Let's go back inside." He started walking back across the street and Kari slapped her forehead in frustration.

"You never tell me ANYTHING," she muttered.

They reached the door and went back to their seats, where they saw the waitress had delivered their orders. John whispered something it Kitty's ear, and they both left Kari standing there as Rogue gave her a raised eyebrow.

"Where are they going?" she asked.

"I don't know," Kari shrugged, sighing. She sat down in her seat and took a bite of her food. She didn't seem all that hungry now, though she still decided to eat. Ten minutes later John and Kitty came back, Kitty whispered something to Rogue, and everyone sat down to eat.

"What's going on?" Kari asked, giving John an accusing look.

"Nothing. Just eat so we can go back."

"I thought the whole point of coming here was so we could get OUT of that building." Rogue pointed this out after swallowing a bit of her orange juice.

"Whatever, I don't care." John finished eating quickly and leaned back in his seat.

"So what were you guys doing outside?" Rogue asked with a sly smile, looking at Kari.

"Talking," she answered in a slightly annoyed way. Rogue raised her eyebrows and nodded in a disbelieving manner.

"What?" Kari asked, lowering one of her eyebrows.

"Nothing." Rogue looked at Kitty, who made quotation marks with her fingers and mouthed "Talking" with rolling eyes and a clever smile. Kari gave them both annoyed stares and then nodded slowly.

"Ah, ha, I get it. I see what you're doing, hey, FUCK OFF." Kari had a nasty tone when she said this that almost made John want to bolt for the door in fear of her starting a trigger of anger. Kitty and Rogue raised their eyebrows. They had never heard Kari talk like that before. John raised his eyebrows and stared sideways at her, then looked at Kitty, then Rogue, and back to Kari. The two girls cleared their throats and Kitty poked a bit of her food with her fork.

"Hey Kari, have you ever had a boyfriend?" she asked spontaneously.

"WHAT?" Kari almost screeched.

"No, seriously, I'm just curious." Kitty looked at her with sincerity. John was watching her with a warning stare as Kari let loose a deep breath.

"NO," she answered slowly, "I haven't."

The rest of the meal was silent.


	17. Projection

Part 16 – Projection

Neither of the four of them had spoken after they left the restaurant, on the way back to the building, or even when Professor Xavier approached them and asked them if they had a good time. Kari simply walked past the all, half purposely hitting John with her shoulder as she passed, and went to isolate herself in Dr. McCoy's office and get back to work. Kitty and Rogue were granted access to visit Bobby in his room, and Professor Xavier pulled John into an empty room afterwards.

"I know you told her," he said immediately.

"Yeah, you always do," John added, slightly bitterly.

"You do understand the consequences of what you've done, don't you?"

"Consequences?" John repeated skeptically.

"Now that Kari knows of her 'disposition', if you please, she's bound to either hurt herself, or others, even possibly come to distrust herself and want to be isolated for the rest of her time here."

"You make it sound like I'm supposed to care," John stated flatly, going back to his narcissistic self that Kari knew only too well.

"But you do," Xavier retorted.

"No, I don't. And you can keep that 'I can read your thoughts' crap to yourself. I don't care. She knows, that's done. I don't care anymore."

"Do you want to know why she panicked?" the professor asked just as John had turned around and was halfway to the door. This made him stop. He took a deep frustrated breath and turned around, crossing his arms.

"Fine. Why?"

"Through her life, she has been…deprived, of certain things. Friends, trust, sometimes even happiness. And love."

"What's your point?" John asked impatiently, leaning against the doorframe.

"As I said before, if she is introduced to an emotion she is not familiar with, it can cause drastic things to occur, and it very hard to calm her from them. She is quite fond of you, you know that, don't you?"

"'Fond of me'? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're blind," Logan said, making John turn around. Logan had his head down as he said this, looking at a diagram of some sort in a small stack of stapled papers. He handed them to the professor.

"These are some of the results from Bobby's tests, Jean said they're making good progress, thought you might want to know."

"Thank you very much, Logan." Xavier smiled and Logan exited, not before giving John some sort of look that made him want to narrow his eyes and sneer at him. Xavier set down the papers Logan had handed him into his lap without looking at them and folded his hands over them, looking at John.

"Look, I don't know what you're trying to tell me here, all I know is that Kari knows what's going on, so, I'm sorry if that 'shattered your hopes of secrecy', and I'm going now."

"You never listen," Xavier said to himself as John went to leave again.

Back in McCoy's office, Kari had basically forgotten anything prior to her coming back to the building, and she was quite content with the things she was working on now. She had prepared herself another cup of coffee, and was typing lightly into the computer some codes, clicking in and out of files, and opening new windows every now and again. Dr. McCoy walked in and gave her a smile, slightly startling her. He sat down in a chair and she turned around.

"Hi," she said simply.

"I'd like to talk to you, if you don't mind, I understand you're busy but —"

"No, that's fine." Kari shook her head and showed she was listening.

"I understand you've uh — been told about your mutant genes."

Kari raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, that. Yeah."

"Well, I just want to let you know that if you have any questions, feel free to ask me. And uh — of course, if you don't mind — I'd like to run some tests on you. Is that okay?"

"Uh —" Kari found this kind of odd. "What for?"

"Basically just to completely understand the extent of your mutant powers, and possibly be able to tell you more."

"Oh. Uh — what will you be — doing?"

"Well, the procedure is we'll have you wired to a small computer, and we'll use images and project them into your brain. The way you react to these images will most likely be able to tell us a lot more than we know."

"And how are you doing this?" Kari asked.

"We'll just attach some wires to the sides of your head, arms, and back. The images will feed through the wires. It's quite simple, and completely harmless. Professor Xavier and Dr. Grey will be observing, if that will make you feel more comfortable.

"I suppose…are you doing this to anyone else?"

"Um, well, we're actually going to have John help us. That's not a problem is it?"

"Problem?" Kari repeated, almost blurting it out.

"This is all for your benefit and knowledge," he reassured.

_Answers. You're looking for answers, remember? He can help you find them!_

Kari gave a deep breath and nodded.

"Okay. Sure."

"Great. Follow me please."

Once Kari left the room with him, she found out John had been outside the door waiting. He didn't seem particularly happy about the situation, but followed anyway.

Ten minutes later, Jean and Dr. McCoy were putting wire pads on the both of the teenagers. They were sitting on a table back to back. The only part they both felt uncomfortable about was the fact they had to both sit there with their shirts off. Kari in her pants and bra, and John (as strange as it sounded) still in a pair of Kari's pants. They were both thinking how grateful they were for not facing each other. Kari was only beginning to feel more uncomfortable because it was cold in the room, and she hated small rooms, so this was not exactly one of her happiest times.

There was a large monitor they were both wired to, beeping as it observed their heart rates and what not.

"Now, what we're going to do is feed you some images from the computer," Hank explained again, "And we'll be processing your reactions to them. By this time tonight, we'll be able to tell you whatever you need to know."

Kari nodded, returning to her nervous swallowing.

"What does John have to do with this?" she asked curiously.

"Close your eyes, both of you," Jean instructed, nodding to Hank who went to type on a small computer.

"Okay, are you ready, Kari?" Xavier asked. She nodded lightly, and gripped the edges of the table with her fingers.

"Here we go," Jean said in a quiet tone.

Kari felt a small jolt as something flew into her brain. An image of the school, kids playing on the basketball court, Rogue, Kitty, and Bobby laughing on the bleachers, John being his usual laid-back self in the background. She didn't feel any different.

Another jolt and she was laying in her front yard with her mp3 player, tapping her foot lightly to her music. No change.

Jolt — she was in her science classroom, right before the accident. There was a small fast-forward and in slow motion she watched the fire "jump" onto the boy's lab coat and flare up. Another small fast-forward and she was backed away, staring with a blank look at the boy as everyone rushed to help him. Her knuckles clenched slightly on the table as she felt a small wave of anger rush through her body.

Jolt — she was in her first class at the school, Storm making a lecture as Kitty and Bobby fooled around, hitting each other under the table with small giggles, muttering joking insults at each other, then Kitty begging jokingly for Kari's help. All three of them laughed. Kari felt her hands relax and let go of her tense grip on the table. Calm replaced her anger and she practically smiled.

Jolt — she was lying down on the asphalt of the basketball court, in the rain. Through her arms she saw the two boys closing in. She felt the plummeting of her stomach and her shoulders shook as she became scared.

At this point she subconsciously realized they were feeding her images from her memory, causing different emotions and their extent. She expected the rest to be just a simple, but she didn't like this one. She was happy when they changed it.

Jolt — She was in McCoy's office with John, locked eyes, hands held, that ten seconds of complete silence. Her hands relaxed, in fact, her whole body seemed to relax. It was like a virtual reality. She felt like she was there again, which made her whole body almost feel limp with calm.

What she didn't know is that through this procedure, they were feeding John the same images. They had wired him to the monitor so that he would be fed the same memory shots. He was feeling exactly what she was feeling, and it was strange for him. All the times he wanted to ask himself "What is she feeling right now?" were being answered. He didn't know that this was a plan of Xavier's, to make him understand how things were through her eyes. So he would understand how she felt.

Jolt — Kari was standing outside on the basketball court yelling at John as they argued back and forth. Kari felt a pang of hurt in her stomach, and when John felt this, he also felt confused. As the image went back and forth, yelling, screaming, arguing, and ending with John leaving, Kari felt herself gripping the table, not able to notice John mirroring her reaction.

Jolt — Kari turned her head to the side and saw John beside her, sitting on her bed. They were in her bedroom, talking about her accident. As she slightly relaxed, expecting the memory to end there because she knew she had no memory of the rest of it, she suddenly froze as she watched John's expression change as he watched her. Then, without warning, she grabbed him tightly around the next and slammed him against the wall. She watched him grab her wrist with both hands and kick furiously, trying to get free. He struggled to breath and she almost screamed at herself to stop.

John was gripping the table tightly, as was Kari, eyes shut tightly in fear as he watched from Kari's eyes his struggle against her. He kept jerking his head to the side, hoping to be able to look away.

Kari felt her fear rising to an intense height. Jean and Xavier watched in half a daze as she and John repeated each other's reactions. Jerking their heads to the side, shaking, and tightening their hands on the table. Kari's hands suddenly released, then with a strange snapping noise, slammed back into a fist, grabbing the table so tightly that her veins were visible and her fingertips were turning red. Her mouth opened in a grimace and she clenched her teeth tightly. For the first time, John was not copying her actions. He was slightly slouched over, gripping the table tightly and clenching his teeth, but he just kept shaking. Kari was beginning to shake violently and her eyes suddenly snapped open to as wide as they could go. And they were pitch black.


	18. Mutant Form

Part 17 – Mutant Form

Once Kari snapped her eyes open, John screamed.

He screamed like he had never screamed before, as loud and as strong as he could. All out of sheer pain. When Kari's eyes opened (and he did not know that they did) something seared in his head, like a hot wire had been jammed through his temple and spread like a deadly disease, until his whole head was burning with a sharp jagged pain. He grabbed the sides of his head and jumped, or more like fell, from the table as he continued to scream, and fell against the wall and slid to the side into the corner. Once the wires had broken from him in his struggle, he simply curled up tightly, still holding the sides of his head and breathing rapidly. A cold sweat had already begun forming on his forehead and chest, either from fear or sudden exhaustion. The pain was suddenly gone. It was like muting a television after it roared with that loud snowy static, when the noise was still ringing loudly in your ears. It was like that; it sort of lingered like a loud noise in a silent room. Was it the connection from the wires that had caused it? He kept his eyes shut tightly as he lay on the floor, panting and sweating.

Eight of Kari's teeth were beginning to grow to long sharp points. Her hands tightened, if even possible, more on the table, until the two spots under her palms were crushed from the pressure. She let out a loud form of a growl and a howl, maybe from pain. She ripped the wires from her body and leapt at the monitor, crashing it to the ground in a flash of electricity and broken circuits. She then leapt on all fours, like a canine, at the computer between Xavier and Jean, knocking it apart in a rage of confusion and pain. She kept making that terrible snarling type noise and jumping around the room. When someone moved, she would glare and bare her teeth like a dog. She leapt onto the side of the farthest wall from the light. In her rampage, she had broken the light on the ceiling. It was dark except for the light shining through the window on the door from the hallway. She hid in the farthest corner, only a small gleam from her eyes available. Tiny sparks were sent from the torn wires every few second, until they finally slowed and stopped. No more spark, and the only noise was the heavy breathing from Kari's chest.

John chose this time to finally open his eyes. Thinking they were still closed from the darkness, he widened them to try and focus. It was at this time when Kari made a small whining noise, like a nervous puppy. Her vision, somehow enhanced in the darkness, she saw the outline of the three adults and the teenager against the wall by the door.

"We can't let her get out," Jean whispered. All three of them had wide, staring, scared-to-death eyes. Panicking, she looked anywhere for something that would help. It was probably not a good idea for her to move, considering the fact Kari had grown inch-long black claws on her fingers, which were helping support her as she stood/lay on all fours sideways on the wall like a predator.

"What's happening?" Hank asked.

"Kari?" John said. Kari only reacted to the noise he had made; she didn't exactly recognize his voice. He took a step slowly into the dim light from the window to look at her. She shrank back into the corner, crawling backwards on the wall. She was beginning to panic, and she kept hearing _"Jump for the door"_ in her head. She flicked her eyes towards the outlines of the adults, and made a snarling noise. With another loud, growling howl, she jumped from the wall for the door, knocking it straight off of its hinges and sending it flying across the hallway to the wall opposite it. She stood up on her two legs curiously, scrunching her eyes from the change of lighting.

"STOP HER!" Hank yelled. John watched helplessly as Hank and Jean ran out of the room. Kari got back on all fours and ran down the hallway like a spooked cat.

"John, you must go with them!" Xavier ordered.

"What just happened?" John asked, in a rushed tone of confusion, frustration, and threat.

"GO!"

"WHY?"

Outside, Kari suddenly turned around fast to face the two doctors. They halted in their tracks and Kari leapt upside down onto the ceiling, running across it over their heads.

"STORM, SCOTT, LOGAN! WE NEED A LITTLE HELP!" Jean yelled as loud as she could. Thankfully, Scott was in a room not far from them. He ran for the doorway and saw Kari fly over his head across the ceiling.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" he yelled.

"GET HER!" Xavier yelled from the room he was in. John gave in and ran down the hallway, running faster than he thought he could. Probably from the adrenaline.

Through this whole ordeal, it was fear driving Kari to do this. Not anger, like the previous time. The memory had triggered a sudden rise of fear in her, which triggered the mutant gene. And as Professor Xavier had explained, it rose to a level so high, it caused her to transform. This was not her full form, however.

Between the two of them, Hank and Jean explained this to Scott and John as they ran after her. As she kept running, she knocked out every light she could reach. The light was irritating her eyes and she was scared of something seeing her. She finally jumped from the ceiling back onto the floor and went through a heavy door, which she simply battered to the ground. It led to a series of stairs, leading to each level of the building. She started running up.

"Scott, Hank, take the elevator, John, come with me up the stairs!" Jean order. John followed her as Hank and Scott turned left quickly.'

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HER?" John yelled at her, surprising them both with his anger. But, she didn't answer. She kept running up the stairs, puffing with breath after Kari's growls and loud footsteps, which were actually being made by her hands as well.

The biggest thing driving Kari at this point was her fear of what she might do to John. Physically, she didn't remember who he was at this time, only who he _was_ in her head. If he stood in front of her, she wouldn't recognize him. But from the computer feeding her that memory, which had actually come from John's memory, she didn't want it to happen again. That was why she was running from them. She wanted John to turn around and stop, She didn't care if the others came after her, just was just running from John. In her head she kept screaming at him and telling him to turn around and stay away, that it wasn't safe for him, but she had lost her ability to speak in her fear.

_Get away, John! GO AWAY!_

She came to the topmost stair and looked around. A door leading to the rooms on the top floor on her left, and one more flight of stairs to the rooftop. Scott and Hank came bursting through the door on her left and she bolted up to the rooftop. She shut the door quickly and beat on the door handle so it wouldn't turn, hoping they wouldn't be able to get through.

Storm came behind Logan and Scott just as Jean reached them.

"She's on the roof," Storm pointed at the door.

"She's locked us in," Scott said wearily. John was breathing fast and sweating. He leaned against the wall, his legs burning from running up the steps. _Never run up staircases,_ he said to himself lightly. Jean suddenly looked tense. Xavier spoke to her in her mind.

_Only John can stop her. Send him._ Jean looked at John, who looked back.

"What?" he asked, worried of the answer.

"Scott, blow the handle. No one goes out there but John." Jean demanded this and everyone gave her a sarcastic stare.

"You're kidding right?"

"Charles told me to send him," Jean insisted.

"Did you not see her? She'll tear him to shreds in this state!" Logan yelled. Jean gave him a steady glare and Scott shrugged, motioning for everyone to stand back. In a loud laser-like noise, the handle was destroyed with a flash of ruby red. John was beginning to completely agree with Logan. He didn't want to go out there.

"Is this a good idea?" he asked, looking at John, who was very nervous.

"No one goes but him," Jean repeated.

"But —" John started, scared. Jean opened the door, where Kari was moving back and forth, looking over the edges of the rooftop fearfully. Jean ushered John forward and shut the door.

At the noise of the door shutting, Kari snapped her head towards him in such a fast motion that he jumped.

"Kari?" he whispered hopefully.

_JOHN! GET AWAY FROM ME!_

It was like battling a demon. The "real" Kari was the subconscious, and the "new" Kari was the demon-like creature that stood before John. And Kari was battling against it.

_JOHN, GET AWAY! I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU! TURN AROUND AND GO BACK!_

It was the only part of her that recognized John, and that was about 2 of her. The rest saw him as a threat, and wanted nothing more than to rip him apart. 98-2. Not her favorite ratio in this situation.

"Kari, I won't hurt you. I want to talk to you." John took one step forward, earning himself a large, angered, threatening growl from Kari. She was sort of crouched down, like a wolf that was baring it's teeth and backing away. There was a shimmer in the air around her that John had not noticed before. It sort of glimmered, then some sort of aura appeared, taking the same position as her body, only in the form of an actual animal.

A fox.

"The foxfire…?" John whispered.

It was a large apparition, basically thirty feet tall, making John feel like he had just shrank considerably. It was a fox with large ears, scratch-tipped black, and two bushy tails, each tipped with the same black fur. Its main fur was a deep orange, and its underside was black, just like its tails. The underside of the fur traveled from its neck all the was to the bottom of the tails, which trailed up into the tips. Its eyes were also black and blank, like Kari's were now, and it had long fangs and huge deadly claws. The look in its dark eyes was that of a creature who wanted to maul whatever it was stalking.

John suddenly felt completely insignificant.

"Kari, tell me you can hear me," he begged, taking heed not to move in fear of her attacking. The only signal she made towards this comment was the baring of her fangs.

_Tell me you have the lighter John, tell me you have it…use the lighter…_Kari begged to herself. She wanted him to attack her, and possibly make her change back. With only her 2 of control, she could really do nothing but talk to herself. John swallowed hard and continued to stare at Kari, occasionally his eyes flicking to the head of the huge transparent fox behind her.

* * *

Behind the door, Professor Xavier appeared, having taken the elevator to find them. 

"Why the hell did you send that boy out there? He'll get killed!" Logan exclaimed angrily.

"Because John's the only one she cares about enough to recognize in her current state. Were it one of us out there, she would have killed us a long time ago."

"Why didn't she kill us while we running after her, then?" Scott asked.

"Because John was with you," Charles answered simply.

"Are you trying to tell me this is some stupid lover's quarrel?" Logan asked.

"No. It may be, but I cannot say. Through what has happened in the past few days, Kari has grown quite fond of John in the sense of a close friend. She trusts him, probably more than she trusts any of us. Though she chooses not to show it," he added.

"So she was running from us when we were chasing her because she was afraid if she attacked us she might hurt John?"

"Exactly. And I cannot say whether he will survive this or not —" (when he said this, they all let their jaws drop to gape at him) "— our chances of helping her are certainly greater now than if I had sent one of you or myself."

They all thought he was insane. And Logan made a point of stating this after the silence.

"Logan!" Storm said, smacking his arm.

"You're putting a kid's life at risk out there!" he argued.

"Would you rather I sent Jean? Or you?" Xavier asked. Logan didn't reply. "Again, I say, if I had sent any one of you, she would have killed you. And I can safely tell you now, John is still alive."

Xavier looked at the door.

* * *

John was becoming stiff from standing still. His mouth was as dry as cotton, and he had no idea what to do. A large gust of wind blew by them, making the scene look like a horror movie. As the wind passed, John felt something hit his leg in his pocket. 

_My lighter._

_Oh, no, stop right there. You can't use your powers _against_ her. Are you crazy?_

_What if it's the only way to stop her?_

_What if she turns it against _you?_ Ever thought of _that

John ignored both of these thoughts and grabbed the lighter in his pocket. Use it against him? Yeah right.

He flicked open the lighter, keeping his eyes on Kari. Her eyes followed the flame intently. He moved it back and forth and watched her eyes travel with it.

"Kari?" he said slowly. She growled. The name didn't seem to be registering, but every time he spoke it seemed to annoy her. She stood upright, the fox apparition behind her somehow moving with her. It stood upright on all fours, staring at him with the same expression as her.

It was strange. All this time John thought the fox was some one else, like some one was possessing her. She didn't realize until now that she _was_ the fox. It hit him just then, and his eyes widened.

"You really _don't_ know who I am," he said quietly after a long silence.

_So is your plan to kill her or what?_ a voice asked him.

_I don't know._

_Well, you have your lighter out. Maybe if you attack her she'll change back to normal and you can get her some real help. Try that._

John was debating about whether this was a smart choice. She seemed impervious to anything trying to injure her.

_I mean come on, she tackled the computers, she ran across a ceiling punching out lights, she broke the handle of a door and shows no signs of pain! She was hanging sideways on a _wall._ What harm can anything cause her?_

John found this correct in his head. Maybe it was futile. Maybe she was going to kill him.

_Well, that sucks,_ he thought bitterly.

_Don't give up, come on. Remember what Magneto said?_

Now why did he bring THAT up? What did Magneto have to do with —

_("You do not belong in a place, or with people that are holding you back. Your power should be free, as should you be to make your own choices. Don't let anyone hold you back.")_

— this.

John blinked for a second, an then stared at the lighter. The flame was still floating in a mesmerizing way back and forth.

She was holding him back. And he knew that now. Why had he suddenly given in to "protecting" her? Why had he suddenly decided that it was the right to tell her she had powers? It would have benefited him now if he hadn't, he realized. She didn't need him. And he didn't need her. Their friendship was nothing now. If she couldn't even recognize him in this state enough to not attack him, then what was the point. She had attacked him in the bedroom, and she didn't even care!

_No, _he corrected himself, _She didn't KNOW._

_That's not an excuse. She still didn't care._

Was he sure of that though? Did he really believe she just didn't care? Why was he even arguing about it? He had to make a choice. Either stand there and let her kill him, or listen to the words he knew were the most logical thing in the world.

_("Don't let anyone hold you back.")_

He knew Magneto was right. Kari was holding him back from doing what he wanted. He wanted some sort of attention. He wanted people to treat him like an adult. He was tired of everyone treating him like a child, telling him he was naïve. The adults at the school always told him he never listened and he was too laid back.

_Whoa, John, hold it._

They always argued with him and told him he was making the wrong choices. That he needed to listen to them and do what _they_ wanted.

Everyone annoyed him. No one cared. Magneto saw his true potential. He should go with him. He was the smarter one. He knew. He could see the potential he really held. He wasn't stupid little John anymore, and Magneto helped him see it.

_That's not true and you know it._

He was a god.

John glared over the flame of his lighter and in a split second, sent a gigantic wall of flames around himself, and shot a stream of fire at the first person he had almost given up everything to actually care about.

Overcome with doubt.


	19. Choice

Part 18 – Choice

Now completely taken over by anger and doubt, John took no hesitation. He shot a huge stream of fire as fast and as strong as he could at the girl standing before him. Expecting her to be caught off guard, and possibly thrown backwards from the force, he was stricken by shock when it seemed to ram into a field of energy, then almost disintegrate and disappear. Then the fire around him was taken from its place to hers as though attracted by a magnet, then it also disappeared.

"What the hell?"

_John, please, I'm sorry, just leave! Get away from me, I can't control what happens to you!_ Kari yelled in her head.

"Don't tell me she can control fire," he breathed in disbelief.

Without warning, Kari threw her hands forward and huge blast of flames surged towards him like an electric current across a wire. Caught by surprise at first, right before it made contact, he caught it in mid air and diminished it.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" he yelled.

* * *

Back behind the door, Logan was still arguing with Professor Xavier. 

"How the hell is he supposed to stop her? Say 'Oh this is just a big misunderstanding, I'm sorry' and expect her to say 'Okay'!"

"Fight fire with fire," was Xavier's calm answer.

"Fire with fi — WHAT?" he said completely confused.

* * *

On the roof, Kari was becoming more like a demon every moment. John could even swear her ears were starting to elongate and point at the end. 

_I never should have come up here. I never should have went in that room, I never should have taken her to that restaurant, I never should have gone into that office, I never should have TALKED TO HER._

_John, calm down, this is just your anger talking. Let it go, she needs your help._

_Help, sure. She wants help in killing me. Did you see what she just did!_

_That's not her John and you know it._

He stared at Kari. How was he to know? Was the girl he knew truly behind those black glaring eyes? The girl he knew would never bring any harm to him, lest it be from some humorous joke. And there was certainly nothing humorous about this. Was she still there? Or was she gone? How could he tell?

_Look at her. You know this isn't her fault. It's just her reaction to what she did. She never knew about the previous attack, and she's scared. She doesn't want to hurt you._

_Then what's she doing now?  
_

_But what if she really _doesn't_ want to hurt you! You'll never know unless you help her!_

_But if I help her, that just gives her another chance to change and come after me again._

_Well, then what's it going to be?_

John almost wanted to strangle himself and save Kari the trouble. What was he going to do? He couldn't just turn around and walk away. Taking a deep breath, he started thinking. What could snap her out of it? What could he possibly do to make her stop? The only ways he'd ever seen her stop was to tranquilize her. And he certainly wasn't hoarding any needles in his pockets.

_Come on, John, think. You have a bond. Think of something that will make her remember._

John crossed his arms and flicked his lighter back and forth. The first time he clicked it, Kari shifted. He froze. She was focusing on the lighter.

_The lighter? What's so special about the lighter?_

Then John remembered. The first time he had ever laid eyes on Kari, she had been staring at the lighter. She was fixated on the flame every time he flicked the top open. She had never taken her eyes off of it until he left the room.

_John, get away! _Kari was still trying to scream.

John curiously watched her, and while he kept his eyes on her, he flicked the lighter open. Kari shifted again, like a glitch on a computer screen. He shut the lighter, and watched her face sort of cringe in impatience. He flicked it open again, and she shifted.

Suddenly, Kari's sarcastic voice said to her, _John that's not funny._

He felt a smile forming on his mouth, and he flicked the lighter shut, then open. He watched Kari's features practically dance in annoyance.

He continued to flick the lighter in a beat until she started growling.

_JOHN KNOCK IT OFF!_ she kept yelling.

After another ten seconds, she started getting angry. She opened her mouth in a grimace and bared her sharp teeth at him. He flicked it open one last time, to show the flame to her. His smile was gone now, replaced with a look of concentration. Kari was practically shaking in irritation. He kept the lighter open and watched her intently.

_GOD DAMN IT, —_

_...click.  
_

"— JOHN KNOCK IT OFF!" She screamed suddenly through her mouth. John almost dropped the lighter and stared in shock. Kari mirrored his expression and looked at herself.

"Where — what's going on?" she said quietly.

"Kari?" John asked, slightly afraid.

"John?" Kari looked up and seemed to, for the first time, notice he was standing there.

Everything looked the same, the fox apparition, Kari's claws and fangs, except her eyes were no longer black, they were now a dark orange with metallic red pupils. These frightened John more than the pure black eyes had.

"What happened?"

_She doesn't remember anything, again. _John continued to stare at her.

"John?" Kari repeated. Once John looked back at her, her eyes started melting to black again.

"Oh, crap, KARI! WAIT NO!" he yelled. Her eyes shifted back to the mix of red and orange.

"What's happening?" Kari said in a loud panicked voice.

"Kari — just — I don't know, don't go back, okay?"

"Back where? ARGH!" she cried out suddenly and grabbed the sides of her head. Something was hurting her, and John was helpless.

"**_I want him…let me kill him…"_** something snarled to her.

_What? What are you talking about?_

"_**Look at him…let me kill him…"**_

_What are you talking about? _Kari repeated.

"_**He doesn't deserve to live…kill him…"**_

Kari screamed and her eyes went black again.

"Shit," John moaned.

"JOHN, THERE'S SOMETHING IN MY HEAD!" she yelled, her voice changing, as though some one was fiddling with a synthesizer.

"What?"

"THERE'S SOMETHING TALKING TO ME! I CAN'T —"

"Who is it?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" She screamed again, letting it turn into a viscous canine-like snarl.

_JOHN_,_ LOOK OUT!_ Was all she could scream in her head before she lunged at him. He yelled and backed up one step before he was tackled to the ground.

At the sound of his scream, Logan burst through the door, disobeying Xavier's orders.

"SHE'S KILLING HIM!" Scott cried.

"DON'T TOUCH HER!" Xavier demanded loudly. Jean and Storm looked panicked as Scott made a motion towards Kari.

"NO!" Storm grabbed Logan's arm as he tried to get to John.

"WHAT, DO YOU WANT HIM TO DIE?" he argued furiously.

"Trust me, Logan, please!" Charles begged.

"STAY AWAY!" John screamed. Whether he was saying this to them or to Kari, no one knew, but it made Logan look confused.

"DON'T COME NEAR HER, SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING!" he warned.

"What?"

"SOME ONE MAKE A FLAME!" he yelled.

"A flame?" Scott asked, his voice cracking with skepticism.

"My lighter! GRAB MY LIGHTER!" he yelled angrily. Logan saw his lighter, which had been knocked from John's hand when he fell over.

"OPEN IT, OPEN IT!" John was screaming. Completely confused, but obedient, Logan flicked open the lighter. The flame immediately flew from the tip to John, who used it to push Kari off of him like a shield. He got to his feet in a hurry and suddenly the door slammed shut, pushing Logan backwards, almost toppling down the stairs.

"You never listen," Charles said, annoyed.

* * *

Kari had sprung to her feet the second she was knocked backward. John pushed himself up, forming a thin wall of flame in front of him.

* * *

"How many floors does this building have?" Scott asked suddenly. 

"Sixty-two, why?" Hank answered.

* * *

"Kari, look at me, I don't want to hurt you!" John said loudly. 

There was a long, intense silence, where Kari's dark black eyes practically stared him down to the ground. Then, she leapt at him, tackled him to the ground, rolled over, and threw him across the platform. He skidded across the hard concrete, feeling his back's skin scraping as he slid a few feet. He grimaced in pain and attempted to get to his feet. When he looked down he saw a wide red line that he assumed was the blood from his back. He took in a sharp breath, becoming slightly nauseated. When he looked up again, in slow motion he saw Kari running at him, claws extended, mouth open in an angry snarl.

_("Are you just really antisocial?")_

_("Aren't you?")…_

John widened his eyes —

_("THAT'S IT, ALLERDYCE! ONE OF THESE DAYS YOU'RE DEAD!")_

_("Not before you.")…_

— and braced himself —

_("How many times am I going to have to kill you?")_

_("You haven't yet.")_

_("I can change that.")_

_("I dare you to.")…_

— and just before —

_("You are SO arrogant, you know that?")…_

— she hit him —

_("When are you going to stop being Mr. Big Shot all the time? Why don't you let go of your stupid EGO for once and just be YOURSELF?")…_

_("…I'm sorry.")…_

— he thought just for a moment —

_("There were pretty much two sides to the story.")…_

_("She has a low tolerance for one basic emotion, anger…she is very dangerous.")…_

_("John, I don't know what's going on…")…_

_("I'm a friend asking for an answer.")…_

_("John, you can't run away from me!")..._

"JOHN!"


	20. Black And Red

Part 19 – Black And Red

Scott threw open the door just as Kari collided with John and they both flew over the side of the roof.

"NOOO!" Logan yelled, bolting for them.

"LOGAN!" Jean yelled, grabbing for him, but catching only air as he ran. Professor Xavier had wide eyes, as did everyone watching Logan run helplessly to the side of the platform, watching the two teenagers plummet to the ground, remembering Hank saying "Sixty-two, why?"

Adrenaline pulsing through him as though it were every ounce of blood in his veins, John looked behind his shoulder, seeing the ground racing to him. He was falling on his back, with Kari above him. Too scared and frozen from shock, John had lost the ability to speak.

_This was what it all led to. Everything built up to this. It all seems pointless now. So what are you going to do?_

John blinked roughly, his eyes stinging from the rushing air. Another forty or so stories up, he could just see the half-dime sized faces of Jean, Scott, and Logan peering fearfully over the edge of the roof.

_It all came down to this…what are you going to do…?_

"John?"

John snapped back to reality, his mind still stuck and adrenaline still pumping through his body. He was going to die. It was an inevitable fact, and he couldn't change that. And it was all the fault of a teenage girl, who was now staring at him with those strange orange-red eyes, and it was then he realized it was the girl he knew, the one that wasn't on the roof with him. It was the same old, cynical, smart-ass Kari. Only now she was gaping in pure wide-eyed terror at the ground rushing at them.

_What are you going to do…?_

John took a deep breath, shut his eyes, and then opened them again. This whole sequence had lasted hardly twelve seconds. With the rest of any strength he had, he swallowed, took one last miniscule second glance at Jean and the others, then back at Kari's fearful, and now realizing face that was saying quietly through her eyes "I'm sorry" before he heard the sickening _CRUNCH_ and the rest of his world disappeared in a flash of black and red.


	21. The Undead

Part 20 - The Undead

When people speak of an afterlife, it is normally in the context of doubt. People question it, wonder if it exists, and what it's like if it does. Others say, there is no life after death. You are just simply gone. Others, speak of reincarnation. The possibility that one's soul is created as another form after death, enabling them to walk the earth once again. All of these factors are unexplainable, and are still unable to be proved or denied. There have been many situations of near death experiences as well, and simply, people who are believed dead, but really aren't.

A situation occurred related to this not an hour after John and Kari fell from the roof of Dr. McCoy's building. Immediately assuming death, the X-Men began to mourn before the two teenagers had even fallen twenty stories. Though they suffered probably unrecoverable injuries, they weren't not in fact, dead.

"Impossible," Jean whispered in awe after they had been taken into the building. Scott carried John while Logan carried Kari so delicately that Scott was in a stage of disbelief that Logan could even show an emotion not equivalent to anger. They had been set on two metal tables similar to ones you would keep in a morgue.

"How can you tell they're alive? They're not showing any signs of physical life." Storm was holding John's wrist in hopes for a pulse.

"They're minds are still here, I can feel them…it's amazing…" Jean had her hands placed very lightly on both sides of John's head.

"Then what's happened to them?" Storm asked quietly.

"I don't know," Jean answered in the same awe-filled tone. The answer was indeed impossible to reveal. Though it was as simple as this.

During their fall from the roof, Kari had regained control of her body, and had a quick realization that she was doomed for death. Of course, still not wanting any harm upon John, she knew she was unable to physically save him from the fall. Without knowing she had the extent of power, she had somehow grasped John's mind in time. Before he hit the ground, his mind was detached from the body, enabling it to continue living. Physically, he was dead. Mentally, he was not. It had been the same with her. By grasping his mind, she had taken her own as well, and they were now trapped in some dimension unknown to anyone. It was much like a dreamland. They would just live in a very long dream for a very long time.

After a day or so, Professor Xavier had discovered this, through much channeling and tracking down any traces of John or Kari's minds. They had each been put into a testing room, transformed into a room where they were wired to monitors again, this time monitoring their heart rates and what not again. The only difference was, they had no heartbeats. They were basically corpses, attached to machines. Professor Xavier hoped that maybe, over a bit of time, John and Kari would return to their bodies, but he was not certain it was possible. As for any body decomposition, none had occurred. It was as if they were dead and alive. The undead, so to speak.

For the next few days, much research was done. Dr. McCoy's office had not been touched since Kari had left it for the testing. Kitty and Rogue altered visits by Bobby's room, and the room holding John and Kari. Storm and Jean were doing everything they could to understand and help the situation with the two teenagers, and Dr. McCoy was still working on a cure for Bobby and Mystique.

As for Magneto, everyone assumed he was lurking about. No one really fussed over it. "Eric will be Eric," as Professor Xavier had said.

All in all, the building was a mournful place, full of silence, an occasional exchange of progress information, and the sighing voices of unhopeful minds. It wasn't until two weeks later that John had woken up.

While Jean was doing her usual rounds for the day, checking the status of all of the patients in the building (which had increased due to other mutants fleeing their homes in search of shelter from the virus), when she came into the presence of a wide-awake John. He had managed to get himself out of the bed, and was attempting to walk over to Kari when Jean rushed in a led him back to the bed.

"What happened to her," John mumbled. He was obviously very exhausted, and his back had begun bleeding from the scrapes he obtained from being thrown across the roof.

"You need to relax, I have to go get the professor, stay here." Jean leaned him back on the bed and rushed back out of the room. His throat was dry and his eyes were sore. It was five minutes later when Jean, Storm, and Xavier appeared.

"My god," he said, suddenly at a loss of breath. He went over to John slowly. John responded by blinking tiredly and mumbling again.

"What happened to Kari?"

"We're not sure, please try to relax, and don't move. Jean, get him a bandage, will you?" Xavier went around the bed and looked John up and down.

"Incredible," Storm said.

"Is she okay?" John asked, his eyes half open.

"Sit up," Jean instructed, helping him sit up so she could clean the scrapes on his back. When he had "died", the wounds had simply stopped bleeding, they had never healed, but now that he was awake, they were bleeding quite freely. After a long moment of cleaning and John flinching from the pain, Jean wrapped a bandage around him almost from his collarbone down to his waist.

"Will he be all right?" Storm asked.

"I'm not sure, this is quite unusual, but —"

"What happened to Kari," John said loudly, making them all stop and look at him. Xavier sighed.

"We're not exactly sure, nor are we sure when or if she will wake up."

John turned his head and looked at Kari, still lying silently on the bed/table on the other side of the room.

"Don't worry, we'll try to help her. Jean, we need to move him into another room for Dr. McCoy."

"I'm not leaving," John muttered flatly.

"John —" Xavier started.

"I'm not leaving," he repeated.

"Very well then," the professor said after a pause, "Storm, get him an IV, please."

"For what, I'm fine." John put his legs over the side of the bed in an attempt to get up.

"You fell off of a sixty-two story building, I hardly believe you're fine." Jean pushed him back onto the bed.

"Let him be," said a voice.

As everyone turned Magneto stepped into the room. Jean gave him a half glare.

"I hardly believe he's capable of getting up after a fall like that," she insisted.

"And I hardly believe your accusations are always correct," Magneto shot back. He turned his head towards John, who was leaning forward on the side of the bed as though he were about to puke. Jean made to respond before Xavier interrupted.

"What brings you here, Eric?" he asked.

"I have received a warning from a friend. The military moves to attack this building inside the hour." Everyone gaped.

"And which friend, might I ask, is this?" Xavier asked calmly.

"My dear boy, who else but Nightcrawler?" Magneto retorted.

"Kurt? How did he find that out?" Storm asked.

"Not to mention the fact of how he contacted you," Jean added.

"Are you all blind to the fact of how many mutants are seeking refuge here? Kurt himself fled from his home when the military began attacking his area, which was easy for him due to his power."

Just as Magneto finished his explanation, there was a loud _bamf_ and everyone jumped, including John, as a tall man covered in thin blue fur materialized in a puff of blue smoke.

"Kurt!" Storm said, surprised.

"They're here," the mutant said with his perfect German accent.

"Did they follow you?" Xavier asked.

"I am not sure, but I tried to get to you as fast as I could." Kurt looked at Magneto, who gave them all an "I told you so" glance.

"Get everyone out. NOW!" Xavier demanded.

"I want all patients possible loaded onto the jet as quickly as you can. Get Dr. McCoy to evacuate!" Jean yelled as everyone started rushing out of the room. John cocked his head as he heard a helicopter motor over the ceiling. Everyone but Magneto had left the room. John looked at him.

"Make a choice, my boy. You're better off without them." Magneto made a sort of motion with his head at Kari. John stared at her, lying there completely still.

"How am I supposed to just leave?" John asked, looking up at the man. Magneto shrugged, looking at him with a hope for an answer.

"I want to go, but I can't just forget. I hate them all, but I can't just LEAVE them." As John said this he could already tell that something was going to happen that he didn't want. Taking heed of this feeling, he stood up and took a slow walk over to Kari. He felt his pocket as his hands dropped to his side, and felt the outline of his lighter. How did that get there? John didn't know Logan had kept it and when he was brought back into the building he put it in John's pocket, feeling it was necessary for him to have it, even if he was "dead". Everyone believed the lighter was as much part of him as his soul. He pulled it from his pocket an studied it.

"What is it, boy?" Magneto asked. John set the lighter down on the table by Kari's hand with his hand still on top of it. He left it there and looked at the elder man.

"Do you really think I have to leave them? I...I can't..." John shook his head lightly, then looked back up. "No."

"I hope you can forgive me for this," Magneto said with a great sigh. _Such petulance for a boy so young._

He walked over to the monitor John was wired to, and he had almost forgot he was. Magneto placed his hands over the wires and suddenly John screamed and fell onto the floor, shaking as though he were being electrocuted. The wires and the monitor shot off sparks from a blowing fuse, and John fell limp.

"I'm sorry, but you are of use to me."

The man picked up the teenager and walked out of the room, leaving Kari's limp body still in the room, and John's lighter at her fingertips. As Magneto fled with John, hoards of mutants were flooding the hallways, trying to get out.

"STORM!" some one yelled suddenly. It was Logan. He was carrying Bobby and Kurt was helping Storm evacuate several other rooms. "WHERE'S KARI?"

"Kari?" Kurt repeated.

"Get her, please, she's in the room with John!" Storm yelled, picking up a small boy who was unconscious, having previously been infected with the virus. There was a large explosion and Kurt was thrown against the wall as he attempted to reach Kari's room. With loud _bamf_ he teleported down to the doorway and ran into the room, where the wall had been blown open and Kari had been slammed against the wall. Several wires were hanging from the ceiling, sparking like mad, and a helicopter was circling the building. It stopped in mid air, turning sideways, its doors opening to drop off soldiers.

"STORM, GET OUT OF HERE!" Kurt yelled through the doorway. He felt a dart hit his should just as he picked up Kari. There was another explosion and unknown to Kurt, Kari's eyes snapped open in a loud gasp and she looked around frantically. She saw a glint of silver and picked up John's lighter, which had been thrown across the room along with her. She looked up and saw Kurt. His eyes were shut tightly in agony. With another explosion, which hit the same room they were in, Kurt screamed just as he spontaneously _bamf_ed. When he reappeared, Kari was no longer with him, and he was lying on the ground in the hallway down stairs. Just as he opened his eyes, the ceiling collapsed and everything went black.


	22. Reverse Virus

Part 21 – Reverse Virus  


**3 Months Later**

After the attack on Dr. McCoy's building, and much deliberation, the X-Men had managed to construct and rebuild a much larger and certainly more cozy mansion, taking the traditional name of "Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters" once again. No news of the rebuilding of the facility was released, by fear of word getting to the military, and possibly destroying it again. So as of that point, people believed the school was virtually burnt to the ground. As a result of the previous attack, much of the machines were damaged, but to everyone's relief, _Cerebro_ was not damaged.

Many mutants had taken refuge at the mansion due to the attacks and the continuation of the distribution of the Anti-X virus. Both infected and uninfected alike. The ones who had not contracted the virus were of great help around the school, and the ones who had were helpful in allowing tests of possible cures. Among the infected were a few such as Warren, who everyone called "Angel, Piotr, also "Colossus" had been infected during the return to the mansion, and strangely enough, Eric Lensherr's son, "Quicksilver". He claimed that as he was trying to return to his father he had been captured, and Magneto had abandoned him.

Among those who had arrived uninfected and had been a great help were Remy LeBeau, or "Gambit", and Nightcrawler had been found unconscious at the scene of the attack on Dr. McCoy's building, but was now in full health, and always happy to do any work needed. All was well, for now, and Storm and Jean had created a near-cure for the virus, soon to develop a full one.

As for Kari, she had been found, after Kurt's random teleportation of her, in the stairwell of the building. After another few weeks of "unconsciousness, she had finally awoken. The following weeks after that had been only sorrow for her as she was informed of what had happened on the roof, and John's disappearance during the attack. She now seemed to be well recovered, but Xavier knew inside she was still deeply depressed. Even in her training she seemed to lack motivation and effort.

The "training" had been suggested by Logan. He came out and gave everyone a full outline of his opinion, saying every mutant needed to be trained in battle and learn to use their powers in any way possible. This could soon turn into a war at any moment, and everyone needed to be ready. Even the students. So, after much more debating, Scott, Logan, and Kurt had turned one of the laboratories underground into a training room, made with holographic projectors to create computer simulations of battle scenarios in which the students were told to handle, together and independently. After much testing with a "cure" for the virus, Colossus had recovered and was now teaching several of the training classes. From these results, Jean and Storm had developed a cure, which within two to three weeks, gave the victim a full recovery.

The students were still attending daily classes, the kind you would see at a normal school. Professor Xavier explained this as a slight benefit, even in battle. Strength was not everything. Intelligence was just as important. So, they were taught much about Science, and how it could possibly become an advantage to your opponent. These soon turned into classes simply focused on strategies for battles, but Xavier became proud nonetheless.

Kari had finally come to control the "demon" within her, the demon that had begun to identify itself as "Crevan", which Kari later learned was a simple name meaning "fox". She had a special training session with one mutant that she felt comfortable with every other night. To everyone's surprise, this mutant was Kurt. During these nights they would sit in the training room, while it was plain. No holographic simulations, just an empty room where they talked. Kurt would explain things to her, she would explain things to him, and together they would sort of talk up a slight solution. Sometimes they would dim the lights and make small simulation scenarios for her. It was these times where she would sort of meditate, and "contact" this "demon". It was very similar to when Professor Xavier would use _Cerebro._ She would sort of go into a trance, and see small lights everywhere, trying to find Crevan. These sessions were never spoken of to anyone other than Kurt, Xavier, and herself. And through many, many of them, she grew to control her powers, which became one simple mutant power.

She was able to basically tap into this creature's powers, and us them as her own. This caused her transformation, ergo the claws, the eyes, the fangs, etc. The origin of this creature was unknown, until Kari started researching in secret. Any sort of information on mythical foxes, or anything she could find, until she came across a piece of information about _foxfire._

John had been right the whole time, but maybe not directly. She _was_ like foxfire. Gentle when used for protection, fierce when used for battle, or angry purposes. One small article she found explained the foxfire, and sometimes how it would take the shape of what some native cultures called the "Two-Tailed God". It was a two-tailed fox, with a mix of black and orange fur, with deep orange red eyes that glowed like embers. After much more study of this, she claimed her mutant alias officially "Foxfire", unaware of course, that John had mentally already named her that.

Some of the students were jealous of her, knowing that Xavier favored her, which he did, but hoped that no one had either noticed or found it to be a hassle. She was the only Class 4 mutant among the students, or technically, her age group. The other Class 4s were mutants like Logan and Scott. Again, some students were envious, others were surprised but disbelieving, and others, were simply her friends.

These were of course, Bobby, Rogue, and Kitty. Bobby and Rogue had recovered from the virus not even twenty-four hours before, and they were already outside with her and Kitty, talking and laughing like they were back in the old school times, which had, in reality, only been maybe four and a half months ago.

"Ah, it's so great to be back outside again," Bobby said with a grin as they all sprawled out on the bleachers. It was around late October, and the air was the perfect temperature, with a light wind and rustling colorful leaves.

"I'm glad you're both better," Kari said with a great relief.

"I'm glad all _three_ of you are better," Kitty said in a correcting tone. Kari shrugged with a nod of assent. She then nudged her with her elbow lightly and nodded to Rogue and Bobby.

"Wait until you start the training," she said with a slight laugh.

"Oh god, yes!" Kitty said, covering her eyes and laughing.

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" Bobby asked with a skeptical brow raised.

"Long story short, the teachers are training us to be X-Men." Kari watched Bobby look at Rogue, who stared in a nonchalant manner of disbelief.

"Very funny," she said.

"I'm not joking," Kari insisted.

"Sure," Bobby said.

"Kari!" some one yelled. The four of them looked up and saw Kurt walking across the campus to them.

"What's he want?" Kitty asked quietly.

"Oh, leave him alone, he's harmless." Kari stood up and walked to the bottom of the bleachers to meet him.

"The professor wishes to speak with us," Kurt said with his strong accent.

"Okay, I'll see you guys later." Kari waved to the others and started walking back with Kurt, who stopped with a small slouch.

"Do we really have to walk all the way back?" he asked, looking at her pleadingly.

"Be my guest," she said with a laugh. He smiled and grabbed her. With a loud _bamf_ and a puff of blue smoke, they vanished and reappeared at the door to the mansion. They walked inside and Kurt _bamf_ed them into Xavier's office, where he was gloomily glancing out the window.

"Professor?" Kari asked.

"Yes. Thank you for coming in." He turned around and gave her a smile, which she immediately saw was almost forced.

"Please, Kari, sit down." He motioned at a chair, which she suspiciously obeyed and sat in. Kurt remained standing behind her, arms crossed, bright yellow eyes watching the man before them.

"I have been…informed of Eric's new plan," Xavier started.

"'Informed?'" Kari repeated.

"I brought you here, because I need you to inform the students of this. Eric had visited the old site of Dr. McCoy's building. He has somehow obtained some version of the virus, and, not to make a pun, mutated it. He has now made a virus that turns _humans _into _mutants_."

"He reversed the effect? How?"

"We don't know. But he's invaded a military base near Washington. There he obtained a weapon that vaporizes any liquid based compound. If he supplied it with his new form of the virus, he could disperse it into the air, and any human could unknowingly transform into mutant."

"But…wouldn't the chemical compound of the virus be separated into its elements once it was vaporized?" Kurt asked.

"No. He's found a way around that as well. I don't know how, but if he were to unleash the vaporized onto the entire population, he could turn every living person into a mutant. Only it's worse. He hasn't tested it, but if Storm and Jean's tests are correct, the virus could kill. Rather than _transforming_ the humans, it's _injecting_ the X-gene into them, and since their bodies aren't used to the gene, not to mention not even familiar with it, it could harm their very DNA pattern, eventually causing it all to split, thus killing them."

"Is Magneto aware of this danger?" Kurt asked.

"No. And since his helmet enables him to escape _Cerebro's_ tracking, I'm afraid I can't contact him to tell him."

"Who told you all of this?" Kari asked.

"I did," said a small voice.

A tall woman with dark hair walked into the room.

"Who are you?" Kari asked.

"Kari, this is Mystique," Xavier said quietly. Kari stared. "When Magneto left Dr. McCoy's building, since Mystique had been infected with the virus, he left her. Surprisingly, the virus did not kill her as we had thought, and before we had developed a cure, she had advanced through the last stages. Her mutant gene has been eliminated."

"She's…human?" Kari concluded.

"Yes, I'm sure it's hard to believe," Mystique said with a sheepish smile, "But Eric had left me, and I didn't know what else to do. And when I thought of all those innocent humans, I suddenly realized I had hated them for a completely wrong reason. I remembered Eric talking about his plan once the virus had been created, and, well, I wanted to help you rather than let it all happen." She shrugged and took a deep breath looking at the ground. Kari was still staring at her in disbelief. Mystique betraying her very leader for years? Hard to believe, but when Kari looked at her, a now tall and dark haired human woman, Kari couldn't help but silently thank her.

"I believe the training of the students is done." Xavier said this after a long pause.

"Huh?" Kari asked, confused.

"We must stop Magneto before he does any more damage."

"Oh, no, no, no, no. You aren't serious." Kari gaped.

"Would I be anything else?" Xavier asked.

"Most of them aren't ready! Bobby and Rogue haven't even _had_ training yet!"

Xavier just glanced at her.

"Kurt, get them ready," he demanded, turning back around and looking out the window. Kari almost fell out of her chair in disbelief.


	23. The New XMen

Part 22 – The New X-Men

_Okay, Crevan, are you ready? Don't get stubborn on me now._

"_**Who's stubborn?"**_

Kari rolled her eyes, watching her fingernails turn into long, hard, sharp claws. She felt her fangs poke into her mouth. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw two huge orange and black tails swish behind her. She took a deep breath and started walking through the woods.

"I suspect Charles will try to stop us. I need you to make sure everyone's ready to leave within the next two hours."

"Right."

Kari jumped behind a tree and saw Magneto talking to some one blocked by the branches in front of her. Whoever it was walking away with their back turn to her and Magneto looked around.

"Hey!" some one yelled. Kari gasped and snapped her head left, seeing a man staring right at her. She turned and ran.

"GET BACK HERE!" the man ran after her. She turned around a tree and saw the man run in front of her.

"Crap," she muttered. Three other men had heard the first's shouts and had come to assist.

"Nowhere to run, sweetie," the second snickered. They closed in and she looked up.

"Not if you can fly," she said mockingly, crouching down and jumping into a high branch.

"HEY!"

"GET DOWN HERE, YOU FREAK!"

"WHEN WE CATCH YOU, YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!"

"Love the sexist comment," Kari muttered to herself. She suddenly raised an eyebrow as she felt the tree tipping. She looked down and saw one man's arm had turned into a large blade, and he had sliced right through the trunk. The tree was falling. Kari screamed and did a small flip onto the ground just before she fell.

The man with the bladed arm ran at her. She did another flip over his head, kicked him in the back and used the force to push off and kick another in the side of the face. A fourth man came at her. She jumped over him, slashed at his back twice, and kicked him in the back of the head, sending him flying. What she counted as seven in her head came zigzagging through the trees after her. After around two minutes of flipping and kicks to the sides and backs of head, Kari spun around and saw Magneto retreating through the tree. She glared and ran after him, doing a spin kick to hit a man that was coming at her from the right. She gained speed and was feet from the elderly man when she felt 155 pounds of flesh slam into her and knock her into the ground.

They tumbled across dead leaves and fallen branches before finally stopping in a small clearing of dirt. She felt a pair of strong hands grip her wrists and hold her arms down. A half scrawny yet strong body pinned her lower body down by straddling her hips. It was a boy.

A boy with glaring eyes, a boy with a mix of brown and blonde spiked hair, a boy with a long sleeved shirt with a dark jacket over it, and a pair of dark pants, followed by a pair of boots on his feet. His hands were clenched tightly on Kari's wrists, his knees on either side of her body, not allowing her to move an inch. She widened her eyes. Her fangs disappeared, her claws shrank back into harmless fingernails, and her two bushy orange-black tails shrank away. Her breath caught in her throat and she suddenly couldn't feel her body, only the body of the boy weighing her down.

"J…John?"

The image faltered, like a glitch on a computer screen, and then disappeared. Kari was left lying on the floor of the simulation room, staring wildly up at the place where John's face had been merely inches from hers, where now there was only air. She could still feel his weight on her, and she swore his eyes were still there, glaring down at her. Her breath was still caught in her throat, and she had almost forgotten how to breath before she felt it wiggle in her throat and she made a small noise, much like a cough or a hack, along with a squeaky wheeze or a half pants. She lifted her head up and looked down at her body, then dropped it back on the cold metal floor. She shut her eyes tightly, the image of John practically burnt into her eyes like a photograph.

There was the sound of a door retracting into the wall and Logan and Kurt came into the room, looking down at her. She half opened her eyes, and for some season, they had begun to well up, stinging her eyes like sand.

"Kari?" Kurt asked softly.

"Go, just, go," she said, shutting her eyes and rolling onto her side. She grabbed her wrist and held back her stinging tears. She didn't know why, but the harsh glare from the hologram had hurt her, deeply. It was so harsh it practically cut her heart. She swallowed hard and dragged herself to her feet, shuffling to the door, where Logan and Kurt had disappeared.

Previously, after a much exhausting argument from Kari, Xavier agreed to wait three days before going after Magneto. During this time, they would test the students. By using the simulation room, each student would go in individually, be given a certain scenario to determine their power level and determine whether they were ready to see battle. Any who didn't pass would stay behind at the mansion, researching and sending any needed information to the X-Men, and help those who were still sick from the virus. These were soon referred to as "medics". By the end of the second day, half the school had either been labeled "medic" or "X-Man". It was like a sick contest. Many of the students were glum that they were to stay behind, others were relieved. Some were happy to be leaving, others were afraid, and wishing they had to stay behind. Bobby and Kitty had been labeled X-Men, but Rogue was to stay behind, this seemed to hurt their particular group, but it was decided.

Kari had gone into the simulation room, the last to be tested, and now it was four hours before departure, when the X-Men would leave, and the Medics would bid them farewell.

"Kari — " Professor Xavier started.

Kari walked right past him and came to her room. She slammed the door shut and collapsed to her knees behind it, forgetting that Kitty, Bobby, and Rogue were inside. She began to cry her eyes out as though they weren't there, like she was completely alone. She covered her face and leaned forward, sobbing.

"Kari?" Bobby asked, staring in complete confusion in unison with the other two girls. Kitty rushed to her feet and knelt by Kari. They discerned no words from her, and after a while got Kari onto her bed, where she curled up and continued to cry quietly. After a long while, she finally stopped, taking a deep breath and swallowing hard and dryly.

"Are you staying?" Kitty asked quietly, rubbing her back comfortingly while Rogue and Bobby watched. Kari shook her head and wiped her nose on her shirtsleeve.

"Then what's wrong? Are you scared to go?" Bobby asked. Another shaking head.

"What happened then?" Kitty asked. There was a light knock at the door and Scott walked in.

"Sorry to interrupt. We're leaving in forty minutes. All medics are to report to the professor's office. Everyone else is to go to the underground garage. And Kari, Logan's marked you as one of the team, so go with Bobby and Kitty, okay?"

The three nodded and Kari took a deep breath. Scott gave her a pitiful glance, then exited.

"I guess we better go then," Bobby said, not sounding particularly enthusiastic. Kitty gave Kari two raised eyebrows, earning a nod. Kari sat up and got to her feet, slightly light headed. She wiped her eyes, took out her hair and shook it back, then put it back into a ponytail, swallowing again and sighing.

"Okay, let's go," she said, shoving her hands into her pockets. Her fingers brushed against the silver Zippo that once belonged to John. She absentmindedly pulled it out and flicked it back and forth as she stared at the ground. It had become a half nervous habit of hers, clicking the lighter. Every time she did it she wondered why it had been left at Dr. McCoy's building. Had John left it there purposely? Or did he drop it by accident? She didn't know, but it was the only piece of him she had left, and she kept it with her everywhere she went.

The four of them made it to outside the room before they realized they had to go in opposite directions. There was a ten-minute farewell to Rogue, with one last long hug from Bobby, and they parted. It seemed like a walk that took forever before they reached the door where several students, around thirty to thirty-five were waiting, some nervously wringing their hands, staring at the ground, shuffling back and forth, and just looking around. Some were still arriving, some were being handed uniforms, others were already changed into them.

"Bobby, Kitty, Kari, over here." Logan called them from a few feet away. Him, Jean, Kurt, and Storm were handing out the uniforms.

"What are the purpose of these things, anyway?" a student asked.

"They're made of synthetic fabrics, made to adjust to any mutant power."

"And they don't contain any metal," Logan added after Jean. Kari wondered if she was the only one who caught this little comment aimed at Magneto. "Here."

She was handed a uniform.

"Girls that way," Storm pointed. Kurt pointed for the boys. There were small curtains set up for makeshift "dressing rooms". Kari snickered and went to change. She was surprised. It was easier to move around in than she thought. After changing, they received a pair of boots each, and she and Kitty examined each other.

"Snazzy," Kitty commented sarcastically.

"At least they aren't pink," Kari said in honesty, going to join Bobby, who had reappeared after changing. Each uniform was made of the same fabric, but some had been suited for physical appearances, like Kari's. Kitty and Bobby both had full gloves, but hers were only half gloves, with the fingertips gone. Kari assumed this was for when her claws appeared, like Logan's were made with holes for his adamantium claws. The uniforms were mainly black combat boots, the pants, and a jacket. Under the jacket was a white T-shirt, which everyone wore. All assumed this was in case injury occurred or something. It gave easier access to the arms and chest if something were to happen, and spared any embarrassment of having to take off the jacket in a situation like this and not having anything under it. After Kari had all of these odd observations, Scott arrived with the last of the students needed. Soon, everyone was in uniform, and Logan flicked a series of switches, and bright overhead lights shined down on the room, revealing three new jets, including the original.

"Scott and Logan have been working on these since we got back," said a voice. The professor appeared behind Jean.

"I wish you all the best of luck. With all hope, we will all return safely." He gave everyone a smile, and twenty minutes later, the students, now the new X-Men, were divided and boarded onto the ship. Thankfully, Kari, Bobby, and Kitty were not separated, boarding the original. Kurt and Storm came up and closed the exit path. With a sort of military nod at the students, they sat down at the controls, and fired the engines.


	24. Bad Idea

Part 23 – Bad Idea

"All four jets are heading to four different points in the US. It'll be easier to find Magneto if we split up." Storm announced to the students aboard the jet. It was night, and they were gliding some thousand miles above Wisconsin.

"So where are we headed?" Bobby asked.

"North Dakota," Storm answered, punching in something on a keypad.

"North Dakota?" Kitty repeated.

"We got a list of 'main' areas Magneto had been hiding lately from Mystique. We're checking all points to see if maybe he's returned to any of them."

"Oh," Bobby said, shrugging.

"Kurt, can you explain the 'rules' to them please."

Everyone looked up and Kurt typed something on the keypad, then unbuckled himself and stood upright in front of the students on the jet.

"For your safety, we ask you please to _not_ run off on your own for any reason whatsoever, do not do anything rash, and when given a command, do not ask questions. Any further 'rules' you will be notified of right away. As of this point, you are technically X-Men, but still students. There is much to learn, and we are responsible for getting you back home safe. We will arrive in North Dakota within the hour, and we ask you not to do anything unless told to do otherwise. Thank you." The blue furred mutant gave a half bow/nod and then returned to his seat.

"Standard procedure?" Kari said in a mocking tone, earning a snicker from Kitty.

"I guess so," Bobby shrugged.

After a long while, the jet landed and Storm unbuckled her belt on the chair.

"Storm, Kurt," a voice crackled on the radio.

"Here," Kurt answered.

"We got to Williamsburg, no sign of Magneto."

"Okay, to the next checkpoint then, we just got to North Dakota, we're ready to scope now. We'll update when we're finished." Storm waited for a reply.

"Roger that. Contact when we arrive at the next checkpoint. Over."

"Over."

Storm and Kurt stood before the students after shutting off the jet completely. Everything went black. All the adults could see where the glows of their students' eyes.

"Okay, first rule of scoping, never go alone. Everyone grab a partner now, and we'll start checking. On flashlight per pair."

Kari rolled her eyes. She was never one for partners. She sighed and she, Kitty, and Bobby exchanged glances.

"Go with Kari, I'll go with Kurt. There's an odd number of kids anyway." Bobby said. Kitty nodded and Kari shrugged.

As soon as everyone was partnered, flashlights were passed around and switched on. Soon, everyone had exited the ship, and split up.

"What exactly are we supposed to be looking for?" Kitty asked, waving the flashlight back and forth as they crunched over leaves. They had landed in a wood, and it was pitch black. Occasionally, Kari would jump from the chirp of a cricket, or the flapping of owls' wings.

"Any sign that Magneto was possibly here. Or might _still_ be here."

"Reassuring, thank you, like I wasn't already freaked," Kitty said sarcastically.

"My pleasure," Kari said jokingly, ducking under a branch that Kitty bumped into before being warned.

"See anything?" she asked.

"Not a thing," Kitty replied. A ways down, they saw the flickering sparkles of the other students' flashlights.

After another ten minutes of searching, Kitty suggested the return to the ship. Kari, agreed, and they turned around. Kari halted, staring with wide eyes at a space where she though the saw a figure run.

"What?" Kitty asked, shining the light where Kari was staring.

"Nothing, just thought I saw some one. Must have been one of the other kids."

They both shrugged and headed back to the ship. Kari knew this was a lie. She _had_ distinctly seen a shadowed figure run near them, and had watched it jump behind a tree just as Kitty shined the light near it, to avoid them. And Kari knew it must _still_ be over there.

"Hey, are you okay?" Kitty asked, shining the light on her friend's chest, making her look up. She hadn't realized she had been staring at the dark ground. "You seem a little out of it, and in all honesty, this probably isn't the best time to be. And you're kind of freaking me out."

"Nothing, I'm just thinking."

"What happened back at the mansion? Why were you so freaked out?" Kitty asked, stopping and staring at Kari.

"I — " Kari stopped. Kitty raised her eyebrows, waiting.

"They…put John in the simulation," she mumbled.

"They WHAT?" Kitty practically screeched.

"I don't know, it was probably the professor's idea. I was in the woods and I found Magneto, all these guys were attacking me, I got them all, and when I ran for Magneto, John jumped out of nowhere and pinned me to the ground."

"Kinky," Kitty said sarcastically after a pause.

"Only if he wasn't trying to kill me. And it wasn't _John_," Kari added. Kitty rolled her eyes.

"Oh, I'm sure."

"Shut up, go back to the jet."

Kitty sniggered and they walked back. Everyone was slowly returning after they had found nothing. Kari's mind was now back on John. She was beginning to feel his weight holding her down again, and the tight grip on her wrist. Out of caution, she grabbed it, making sure some one wasn't actually holding it.

_Knock it off, Kari, you're just freaking yourself out._

"_**Hell, you're freaking me out."**_

_Shut it, Crevan._

Their relationship was rather back and forth. At some points, Crevan would just be bland with his speaking, and say "whatever" to Kari's questions. Other times, he was mainly sarcastic and snappy, and rude. But Kari had gotten used to it, and they were pretty much on a complicated friendly level, which was fine for her. To be honest, it was like her relationship with John. Understanding sometimes, other times, arguing and sarcastic comments, verbal abuse, etc.

Storm had returned and they were now waiting for a few others, including Kurt and Bobby. As Kari stared around at the dark trees, her mind flitted back to the shadowed figure. Maybe it was still over there? Maybe she should go see?

_No, that's against the rules, I can't go anywhere alone, nonetheless for a reason like that._

"_**Then why don't you tell them you saw it?"**_

_Because then everyone would go after it, and it would probably run. I want to see it for myself. There would be less of a chance of me losing it if I went alone._

"_**This may be the first time and last time I'll ever say this, but it's a bad idea."**_

_Oh, shut up._

After a heated two-minute argument in Kari's head, Kurt and Bobby arrived. They chatted with Storm, reported no sightings, lots of nods proceeded, and then everyone was lined back onto the ship. Storm strapped herself in, as did Kurt, and they started the engines. They hovered above the ground, and took off. Kari sighed.

"Bobby?" Kitty asked quietly.

"What?"

"Where's Kari?"


	25. Alkali Lake

Part 24 – Alkali Lake

Kari watched from behind a tree as the jet took off. She felt her heart pounding in her chest behind the layers of her uniform, the white T-shirt beneath it, and her flesh. She bet to herself that she could put a hand over it and still be able feel it through all of that. She swallowed nervously, and looked around. Now there was no light at all. It was pitch black, and she was all alone.

"_**So, how do you expect to find this 'mysterious figure'?"**_

_Very carefully, that's how, _Kari snapped.

She took a deep breath let her eyes adjust to their fullest ability in the dark. She was able to see faint outlines of the trees. Other than that, nothing. She looked up just as the clouds shifted away from the moon. It was half full, and it cast at list a little assisting light. Kari was thankful. She did another 360° turn, looking around her, and then saw something move. It was like a dark flash, as though some one were running. There was another one behind her, and then another. It was then that she started panicking.

She was outnumbered.

_Crap, now what?_

"_**I told you it was a bad idea."**_

_Well, then tell me what YOUR plan is, SHERLOCK._

"_**Go up the tree."**_

Kari heard another rustle, let her claws appear, and climbed up the tree as quietly as she could. She came to a large branch where she crouched down and dug her claws into the bark, perched much like a sitting cat. Her eyes flicked over the dark ground, and snapped to a halt on a short rustling noise to the right.

"My, she is sneaky, isn't she?"

Kari gasped and turned her head to the left just in time to have some one half tackle, half knock her out of the tree. The jumped, pushed her, and then did a flip, landing on the ground like a cat as she slammed into the dirt with a loud and painful _BAM!_ She groaned and rolled onto her side, coughing and trying to catch her breath. Within a second, she felt her fangs grow and her ears elongate slightly into points. She clenched her clawed hands and jumped to her feet, assisted slightly by her two large tails that had also appeared. She flexed her hands while they were outstretched, waiting for another attack.

Behind her she heard a small footstep, and after a tiny flick of one of her tails, she spun around and her leg collided with some one's neck, causing them to fly to the side and smack into a tree, leaning over and dropping to their knees, before falling face first into the dirt. All at once, four men ran at her. She managed to knock two of them down, but was grabbed by the neck by a third, who slammed her against the tree. The other three disappeared "into" his body, and she narrowed her eyes sarcastically.

"Multiple Man, I take it?" she asked, raising her eyebrows with sarcastic half lidded eyes.

"My reputation precedes me," he said with an evil smile. He tightened his fingers around her throat. She noticed she was at least four inches off the ground, her legs dangly helplessly.

"I hope you'll forgive me, I'm not normally one who resorts to this." She bent her knee and hit him as hard as she could between the legs, earning an immediate release and a short fall to the ground. The man dropped to his knees, face grimaced in pain. Kari sighed and kneed him in the face, knocking him unconscious. As she turned her head, something long and sharp went flying past her head, sticking firmly in a tree. She jumped and stumbled away in surprise, just as another one came at her head. She ducked and looked in front of her, where a man was holding three more spiked items.

"Ah, crap."

The man yelled and ran after her, throwing these spikes like daggers. She dodged as many as she could before feeling one pierce right through her uniform, near the top of her arm. She cried out and stumbled over a fallen tree, landing painfully on her back. She went limp and assumed her vision was going black, but from the darkness around her already, she couldn't tell.

"Enough, gather the others. We head for Alkali Lake."

Magneto's voice echoed in her head, until the next thing she knew, Kurt's bright yellow eyes were staring down at her.

"Kari, Kari! Wake up!"

She groaned and blinked a bit. There were moving flashlights around her and Storm's stern face came into view.

"What were you thinking! We told you not to run off like that, you could have gotten killed!"

"I'm sure it was enough of a price to find out where Magneto is," Kari answered painfully, sitting up and grasping her shoulder, where the long spike was still protruding.

"You what?" Kurt said quickly.

"What happened? Is she okay?" Bobby's worried face came up behind Kurt's, followed by Kitty's.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a friendly little encounter with the Brotherhood."

Storm rolled her eyes and held onto the spike in her arm.

"Wait, DON'T — !" Kari said just as Storm yanked it out of her skin. She screamed in agony and clenched her fingers over the wound.

"Let's get her on the jet, Kurt, grab a bandage, will you?" Strom asked. Bobby helped Kari to her feet and assisted her in walking to the jet, where several of the other kids were strapped into their seats, nervously talking. When she got on board, they all became silent and stared at her. Kari gave them all a sarcastic stare.

"Oh, bug off," she snapped as Bobby helped her into a seat. She unzipped the jacket of her uniform and Kurt came over with a bandage.

"I can't believe it. Not even four hours and I already ripped it." Kari gave a sarcastic nod towards her jacket and Storm gave her a sort of glare, grabbing it and handing it to some one in the back.

"She'll fix it," she said to Kari. Kurt finished cleaning Kari's injury, and bandaged it up, letting the sleeve of her white shirt back down over it. Kari rubbed it gingerly and Kitty and Bobby sat down in their seats.

"Magneto's going to Alkali Lake," Kari said, still rubbing her arm as Storm and Kurt sat down at the controls. Both of the adults froze.

"Alkali Lake?" Storm repeated after a sort of creepy pause.

"Yeah," Kari said, her voice slightly cracking with a moan of pain. She stopped rubbing her arm and dropped her hand on the arm rest of the seat. After a moment of buckling herself in, she sighed and Storm fired the engines up again.

Hours later, they landed at Alkali Lake, surprising the students at the fact that the older X-Men had the nerve to just _fly_ into Canada. Around an hours after that, the other three jets arrived, after Storm had sent word of Kari's discovery. When Logan exited the jet he was aboard, he seemed silent, almost grave.

"Do you think Magneto's already here?" Bobby asked.

It was rather cold there, but not completely snowing. There were some spots here and there, caused by the late fall. Bobby, Kitty, and Kari were sitting on the edge of the lake. Kitty was tossing in small rocks, and Kari was clutching her arm, practically freezing without her jacket. Just as she had this thought, a small girl came back and handed her the uniform jacket. It was repaired where there had once been a bloody tear.

"Thanks," she said gratefully, putting it on. And then she replied to Bobby's question.

"I doubt it. Maybe we should hide the jets." Kari came up with this suggestion, and right at that moment, got up to reveal it to the adults, who were all gathered under one jet, talking amongst themselves. All of the students were either scattered around the jets, or still inside them keeping warm. She wandered over to the "teachers" and they all turned to look at her.

"Are you insane?" was Logan's first comment.

"Can we not play the guilt card right now? Yeah, that would be great. Thanks. Look, since Magneto probably isn't here yet, maybe we should hide the jets, so he doesn't see us. We'll catch him off guard."

"Au Contraire," said a voice. Kari spun around, and with widening eyes, she saw Magneto standing behind them with a smile. She heard the metallic _shink_ of adamantium claws from Logan, and was beginning to feel her own claws appearing, along with her fangs, though she purposely made the transformation slow, hoping it didn't look obvious.

"I assume you're going to give some speech about how my plan is wrong, and I 'don't know how many people might get hurt' or 'how many lives could be at risk.' Well, I'm telling you now that such a speech is pointless…"

He raised his hands and Kari almost screamed when all four of the X-Jets were risen into the air, and levitated over the lake.

"…when the lives of your _students _are at stake." Magneto dropped his fingers and the jets plummeted into the lake. All of the students not aboard the jets suddenly jumped to their feet in panic.

"You BASTARD!" Logan yelled, running for Magneto.

"My dear boy, when will you learn that it's impossible for you to touch me?"

With another raised hand, Logan was lifted into the air, and dropped into the freezing water. Some of the students had kicked into action already, and were jumping into the water after their comrades. Others were looking panicked, not knowing what to do. There was almost a sixty-second pause as the rest of the adults conflicted over whether to attack Magneto or save the kids. Eventually, they all ran for the water. Magneto gave a small chuckle and started walking towards an old ruin by the broken dam, which had looked like it had flooded the place. Kari was now the only person on land, save Magneto, watching him walk to the ruin. She had a few thoughts about what to do herself. She figured the students had enough people to rescue them, and she could catch magneto here and now. Once she almost made a decision to move towards the elder man, a long spike shot at her, landing in the dirt at her feet. She jumped back and looked in the direction it had come from.

At least a hundred mutants, undoubtedly the entire Brotherhood of Mutants, were proceeding towards her in pursuit of Magneto, following him to the ruin. She watched one remove a pair of violet gloves as they walked, giving her a small glance. She didn't recognize any of the mutants, save Multiple Man and the other boy who had attacked her in the woods. But a thought started sparking in her head.

_What if John's with them?_

And as an immediate reply, Crevan jumped in.

"_**This is no time to run after your boyfriend, go help Logan and the others!"**_

_But what if John's —_

Her question was answered as she saw a familiar boy walking, actually in the front. How she had not noticed him before was beyond her. His hair, dark brown and blonde and spiked, his walk general, almost lazy, but he almost had a new attitude, which Kari had never known him to have.

Obedience.

"John — !" she started in shock. Just as she started his name, the mutant who had removed the pair of gloves clapped her hands together and Kari was forced backward in a shockwave. She flew through the air and landed with a _splash_ into the lake.


	26. Phasing

Part 25 - Phasing

Around twenty minutes later, almost all of the students were back on shore, sputtering out water and wringing out their hair.

"I must admit, I hate these suits," Jubilee said at one point, "But thank god they're waterproof."

"Amen to that," Kari said, watching Kitty come out of the water with another student in her arms. She had been able to rescue the most, being able to go under water and just phase through the jet with several kids at a time and have them swim to shore.

"Is that everyone?" Bobby asked, looking around.

"I think so," Kitty answered as the little boy coughed up some water and took in a deep breath.

"That was real nice of him," the boy said, glaring in the path of where Magneto and his Brotherhood had disappeared.

"Okay, is everyone all right? Pretty much dry?" Storm asked loudly so everyone could hear. There were many muffled and monotone yes's and Kari took her hair out so she could squeeze the water from it. Jean was working on using her telekinesis to levitate the jets out of the water. While she did that, the other adults talked amongst themselves, rapidly deciding what to do. Moments later, Jean was finished and Bobby walked up to the edge of lake.

"What are you doing?" Kari asked, putting her hair back in a ponytail. As an answer, Bobby shot a thin beam of ice at the edge of the water, watching it spread for miles down the rest of the lake, occasionally putting frost on the soft dirt of the shore. When Bobby was finished, he examined the thickness of the ice, muttered something about it being "good enough" and walked back over to the two girls.

"That way Magneto doesn't drown us again," he explained.

"Nice work, Drake, now everyone get up, we're heading to that ruin." Logan studied everyone as they got to their feet, and Kari, Bobby, and Kitty turned to face him.

"Now, I'm just going to tell you all this now. Magneto is powerful, and in all honesty, some of you might not make it through this fight. Just try your hardest, and never stop. Try to help as many as you can, and just fight like you were trained. There are some powerful mutants in there, I won't deny it. Just do what your best at, and we might get through this."

"Inspiring, really, and reassuring as well," Kari added in a mumble.

"Are you all ready?" Jean asked, coming up behind Logan. There were several nods and nervous glances from the students.

"All right, X-Men. Let's do this."

Logan turned and everyone marched towards the ruin. As they walked, Kari felt her heart thudding inside her chest again. Logan was right. She knew most of these students weren't powerful enough to fight for themselves. Why they had even passed the tests she didn't know. But she made one promise to herself.

And that was to not let Bobby or Kitty out of her sight. She gave them both sideways glances as they marched. She also made a half promise. And that was to at least find John again, whether Magneto killed her or not. Not just John, the John she knew. The narcissistic, sardonic, sixteen-year-old nonchalant John she knew, not some pawn that belonged to Magneto. She brushed her hand against her pants and felt the outline of lighter. She had brought it with her, afraid to leave it at the mansion. Well, not necessarily afraid, more like it was a case of separation anxiety. She took a deep breath through her nose and kept her hand over her pocket.

"Are you sure they're ready for this?" Bobby asked quietly. Kari caught the meaning of his question. The three of them were easily the oldest among the students. Kari and Kitty were fifteen, and Bobby sixteen. Most the students marching after them were hardly even fourteen. And the youngest was barely eleven. With the adults in front, leading the three teenagers, and the teenagers leading the rest of the students, Kari's heart pounded out of nervousness, and loss of hope. There was no way they would win a battle like this. They were easily outnumbered. They had thirty some odd mutants. Magneto easily had over a hundred. And not just that.

He had John.

Kari found this, in anger, as a weakness to her. She hoped and begged she would not find him in there, despite the fact she had already caught a glimpse of him marching obediently after his new leader. She begged she would not find him as he was, she wanted him to be the old John. The John they all knew. They John who used to insult her. The John that had gotten so irritated, that he had tackled her onto the bleachers. The John that yelled in frustration when she asked him for an answer.

The John that was her friend.

The boy she watched marching ahead of Magneto's army, it just didn't seem like the John she knew. He seemed almost zombie like. His glance hadn't lost any of its old emotion, he just now seemed obedient. And she had never known him to be. Had magneto somehow changed him? She hoped not. She would rather fight and lose against the old John then stand there and see him as some one she hardly knew, with those glaring eyes, full of anger and hate at the simple idea she had tried to attack his leader, with his hands practically cutting off any circulation that was once in her arms, sitting on top of her, pinning her to the ground, glaring with those dark hating eyes, within seconds of killing her…

_STOP IT._

Kari scolded herself and halted after the adults did. The ruin was nothing more than what looked like an abandoned stone building. But where there were several footprints and upset dirt, there were two large wooden doors that led underground.

"Everyone take out your headsets."

Jean motioned to a pocket on the inside of her uniform jacket and everyone copied it. There was a small, thin, foldable microphone made to be worn as headphones. Kari placed hers around her ears and looked back at Jean.

"If you get caught in ANY situation and you need help, call for anyone. We've mapped the inside and it's pretty easy to navigate through. Everyone's job is to find Magneto, no matter what you do. Once you find him, contact us and report his location, we don't know what he's doing in there, but we know it's not good. Everyone clear?"

Nods.

"All right. In we go." Scott opened the two wooden doors and everyone headed inside. There were so many tunnels that several people divided into groups between six and five. Bobby, Kitty, and Kari of course, headed down an empty hallway.

"There could be mutants around any corner, everyone keep a sharp eye," Kari said, reporting this through her headset to everyone else. She heard murmurs of "Okay" and kept going.

"What's that noise?" Bobby asked suddenly.

"What noise?" Kitty asked.

"Ssh, listen."

He looked at one of the stonewalls and put his head to it, listening as quietly as he could. Kari copied his actions, as did Kitty. Some one was speaking to another person, but they couldn't make out the words.

"Kitty, can you take a look?" Bobby asked.

"My pleasure," she said sarcastically. With a second's hesitation, she phased through the wall and half of her body disappeared. Bobby and Kari continued to listen through the wall. After about two minutes, Kitty reappeared.

"I can't really tell who it is, but they're saying something about the president."

"The president?" Bobby repeated.

"Oh crap. What if Magneto's moving to attack the president?" Kari realized suddenly.

"He could use the new virus he made and turn the whole congress into mutants!" Bobby added on. Meanwhile, Kitty had phased halfway through the wall again. Then suddenly, they heard a gruff yell and Kitty slipped out of the wall.

"RUN!" she yelled, bolting down the hallway. There was huge crash and the wall crumbled as a man, nearly eight feet tall, burst through it like it was paper. Bobby and Kari screamed, sprinting after Kitty.

"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE VERMIN!"

"Who the hell is that guy?" Kitty yelled, panicking.

"Juggernaut, I assume," Kari answered as they turned a sharp corner, hearing the man slam into the wall, not able to turn to so quickly.

"What are you, a mutant expert?" Bobby yelled.

"I read, Bobby, it's great, maybe you should try it sometime!" Kari argued.

"Oh, shut it!"

"I've researched a lot of infamous mutants that have been mysteriously released or have disappeared within the last month, no doubt by Magneto. I remember a lot of names and powers, like the one that knocked me into the river with the shockwave! Her name's Arclight. Magneto's released a lot of really powerful mutants, which means, if I'm not mistaken —"

"Watch out!" Kitty yelled. The skid to a halt and saw a man blocking their way with three long spikes in each hand. Behind him were Arclight and Multiple Man.

"— we're in deep shit." Kari finished as Kitty turned to see Juggernaut coming behind them. In a split second, Kitty grabbed both of their arms and ran through a wall, ending up in another empty hallway with a few doors.

"Thanks," Bobby said, catching his breath. Just as they were all regaining their breaths, there was another loud _crash_ and Juggernaut came through the wall.

"GOD DAMN IT!" Kitty yelled, running with Kari and Bobby right behind her.

"What do we do now?" Bobby shouted as they ran.

"Freeze him!" Kari said suddenly.

"WHAT!"

"FREEZE HIM!" Kari repeated in a commanding yell.

Bobby sighed, frustrated, then flattened against the wall in a halt and Juggernaut rumbled past him. He threw his hands forward and shot a huge beam of ice at him, hoping to stop him. The floor became slick with the cold ice and the huge man slipped, flying across the floor at an even greater speed towards the girls. Kitty looked over her shoulder, yelled in fright, and wrapped her arms around Kari. The giant man went right through them, continuing to slide down the hallway. Bobby ran towards them, still shooting him with ice until he finally slid to a stop, frozen solid. Kitty let go of Kari and Bobby slowed to a stop, panting.

"Nice work," Kari said with one of her own pants. "And thanks," she added to Kitty.

"You are SUCH a lucky mutant," Bobby commented as they stood there. Kitty shrugged and smiled.

"Kari, Bobby? Kitty? How are you guys doing?" Scott asked over the headset.

"Good, we're good, just getting past some of Magneto's friends. We're good." Kari calmed her breathing and looked around.

"All right, just checking. Where are you guys?"

"Um….where are we?" Kari asked.

"There's a labeling here," Bobby said, wiping some dirt from it.

"'Level 2, Storage'," Kari read, relaying to Scott.

"Okay, Kurt should be heading your way then, he's with Jubilee and some others."

"Right."

Bobby looked behind them and scanned around for any others of the Brotherhood. None were spotted, and they headed down the hallway.

"Where do you think these doors lead?" Kitty asked as they walked.

"I dunno, this one's locked." Bobby tried to open one, but it didn't budge.

"Here, this one's open." Kari opened one of the doors and peered inside. She opened it wider and all three of them stepped inside. Kitty flicked a switch on that was next to the door and all three of them froze. There, floating in a tank full of transparent yellow-green substance, was Scott.

"W — what…" Kitty stammered.

"Didn't we just…what's he doing in there?" Bobby said, almost as speechless as Kitty. Kari stared in complete shock at Scott floating in the tank, small bubbled occasionally spewing from his mouth. There was a large keyboard and a number of controls on it attacked to the front of the tanks, and a container full of some liquid that was attached to a tube, that was feeding into the tank, and into six spots on Scott's body, on either side of his neck, the two spots in the middle of his arms, and into his thighs.

"What…is this?" Kari uttered in confusion, stepping up to the keyboard. Every few seconds a small bubble would rise in the container, insisting that the liquid was being injected into the man. Suddenly, Kari ran out of the room and tried another door.

"I told you, it's locked," Bobby said. And not a second later had Kari backed up and kicked the door down with a loud _BAM_ and they watched it crash to the ground. She flicked on the switch in the room, and saw someone else in an identical tank.

Jean.

"What's going on here?" Kitty asked, her voice sounding panicked. Kari checked her headset.

"Anyone there? Jean? Storm?" she asked rapidly.

"This is Jean. What is it? Did you find Magneto?"

"No, we found something else." Kari said worriedly.

"What? What did you find?"

"You," Kari said tonelessly.


	27. First Deaths

Part 26 – First Deaths

"What do you mean you found 'me'?" Jean asked skeptically.

"We found Scott, too." Bobby told her this as Kitty looked outside to make sure no one was there.

"Scott's with you?" Jean asked.

"No! Jean — we found _you_ and _Scott._ Or…well..."

"We don't know if it's really you if we're talking to you right now," Bobby added.

"Look," Kari cut in, "You need to come down here and see this, we can't figure out what they are."

"You just said it was Scott!"

"JEAN JUST GET DOWN HERE!" Kari yelled, getting frustrated.

"Fine, where are you?"

"Level 2."

"Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Hurry," Kari added, looked back up at the Jean floating in the tank. Attached to the front of it was the same sort of keypad attached to the tank in the other room.

"We have to get out of here," Kitty said suddenly, grabbing Bobby's arm.

"Why?" Kari asked.

"Those guys are coming again!"

Kitty and Bobby ran and Kari followed. Sure enough, when she looked down the hallway, Arclight, Multiple Man, and the other with the spikes (who Kari now remembered _as_ Spyke) were coming down the hallway, looking around probably for them. Just down the way, they spotted Kurt and Jubilee, just as Scott had said.

"There's mutants coming, turn around!" Kari urged. Nightcrawler immediately turned and rushed the others to run. They all sprinted down the hallway and came to a dead end.

"Oh, CRAP," Kari whined.

"Let's go," Kitty said, almost lazily, grabbing the other two and phasing through the wall. Next, she disappeared through it again and soon had transported the others.

"This place must be huge," Bobby commented, realizing they were just in another labyrinth of hallways.

"Jean, watch out when you get to Level 2, there's some mutants down there," Kari warned.

"All right," was Jean's reply.

"Did you find anything?" Kurt asked.

"Oh yeah. Back in there Jean and Scott are floating in a couple of tanks." Bobby had a sarcastic tone as he said this.

"What?" Jubilee said.

"Exactly. We don't know why they're there, or how we're talking to Jean, when's she's immersed in some funky liquid!" Kari said.

"Well, our main mission is still to find Magneto, so we can at least accomplish that, let's go." Jubilee looked around a corner, and headed down the hallway.

"Let's split up again, report back if you find anything," Kurt said to Bobby, Kari, and Kitty.

"Okay. See you." Kari went the opposite way down the hallway. Not two seconds later did they run into Multiple Man.

"How the hell — ?" Kitty started. Kari gave her a sarcastic glance.

"Oh." She said, realizing. _Multiple Man, DUH._ As they turned to run, another popped up behind them. They heard a _bamf_ and Nightcrawler and the other kids disappeared.

_Great,_ Kari thought. All at once, they were surround, four men on each side of them. Kari sighed and felt her transformation begin. Claws, fangs, tails. She looked at Bobby, who raised his hands.

"Be my guest," he said. Kari jumped. One kick to the face, two in the neck, two to the stomach, one tripped and kicked against the wall, one double kick and a punch, then one last kick to the face. All eight of them fell to the ground.

"I may be able to walk through walls, but you can kick some serious ass," Kitty said.

"Thanks. I try." Kari watched all of the unconscious forms disappear and they looked around. No more to be seen. Just as they took another step, Kari felt something wrap around her leg and throw her against the wall. She yelled and watched Kitty and Bobby have the same done to them. A small green man leapt from the ceiling and crouched in front of them.

"Like little flies, eh?" he cackled. Kari got to her feet and the man flicked his head towards her.

"I thought you were supposed to be dead," she said, giving him a cautious look.

"Oh, after that little lightning storm? Girlie, it takes more than that to even throw me on my back." He leapt and kicked her against the wall, then jumped again and caught Kitty just as she stood up. He was in mid-air, about to get to Bobby before the teenager froze him and he dropped to the ground. Everything but his feet were in solid ice, and they were kicking vigorously, until they went limp.

"Try that on for size," Bobby said spitefully. He helped Kitty up and Kari pushed herself to her feet.

"I'm really beginning to dislike this place," Kitty said gruffly. They all turned their heads as they heard a few cries down the hallway.

"Let's go!" Bobby said quickly, running towards the screams. They heard loud growls and the cries of the students. The sight that met their eyes was not one they were glad to see.

One particular mutant that Kari had read about was a ferocious one called Sabretooth. And when they turned the corner they saw this man holding one of the students by the throat, two other ones against the wall with bleeding heads. Kari widened her eyes and without hesitation, Bobby ran for the enemy, punching him and knocking him backwards slightly. The mutant became angry, let out an enormous growl and threw Bobby against the wall. Kitty ran at him. He saw her coming, raised his arm and hit right through her. She ran through his body and kicked him in the back, making him stumble towards Kari, who jumped and kicked him in the side of the head. He growled again and lunged at her, grabbing her neck with both clawed hands. He freed one and raised it in fury.

"You know, you're not the only one with claws," Kari said, half choking. She raised her leg, kneed him in the stomach and slashed across his face with both hands twice. He howled in pain and Kitty came up behind him, kicking the back of his head, knocking him unconscious. Bobby rushed to the kid who had been up against the wall. He was rasping for air, with deep claws gashes on his neck. Then all at once, he stopped. Bobby stared hopelessly.

"Is he okay?" Kitty asked. Bobby glanced at her, then stood upright. Kitty looked at Kari, whose tails drooped lightly. She swallowed and checked her headset. With a slightly cracking voice, she said, "Jean."

"Here," came the answer.

"Where are you?"

"Just reaching Level 2, you?"

"We're in another hallway, with Sabretooth. He got three of the students."

There was silence on the other end.

"What do we do?" Kari asked quietly.

More silence, and then, "Leave them."

Bobby almost fell over.

"Are you joking? We can't just —"

"We'll take them later. We still have to find Magneto. Keep going."

There was more silence and Kari assumed she had gone. All three of the teenagers exchanged morbid glances, and with uneasy stomachs, walked past the corpses of the students. As they continued down the hallway, Kari couldn't help thinking it was inevitable. Even the adults knew it. Those kids weren't ready and they knew. They should have even been there. Then she started feeling that the teachers were responsible for their deaths.

"_**Stop thinking that way, it's not true. It's necessary, just keep going. It's only the start of the war, people and mutants alike are bound to die, and this is just the beginning. You have to find Magneto or even more will die."**_

It was the first time Kari had heard Crevan speak that way. Regardless, she knew he was right. She took a deep, stammering breath and kept walking. With one more step, Toad came up behind them, upside-down on the ceiling, grinning at them. All three of them jumped and froze.

"How did you get out?" Bobby asked quickly.

"Let's just say I know a little pyromaniac," Toad sneered. It was at these words, Kari's body tensed up with anger. Toad obviously noticed this, here eyes narrowing in fury. He gave a cruel smile, showing his nasty, yellowish teeth.

"Oh, that' right, you must be that girlie _Kari_," he said suddenly. Kari froze. Kitty and Bobby looked at her.

"Oh, I hear stories," he added, noticing that all three of them had no idea how he could know her.

"Stories?" Kitty repeated.

"Oh, our little obedient boy goes on and on about how he hates you. Always ranting about how you always killed him, betrayed him, and for once he thought you actually cared about him. Then he realized what a good guy Magneto was and decided to go with his side instead, seeing as it was better than that stupid Xavier. He never stops talking about how he's always wanted to get you back. And about how you were so annoying, and so pitiful, and how you drove him crazy —"

"SHUT UP!" Kari yelled furiously, leaping at him and knocking him off the ceiling. They had a sixty-second fight, moving so fast that Bobby and Kitty could hardly tell what was going on. The only time anything stopped was when Toad would leap and stick to one of the wall above Kari and sneer at her and tease her, with words like "whiny", "pitiful", and "petulant little girl". After one second of him saying a word, Kari would leap at him again. They reason they were moving so fast was because Kari was practically just chasing him the whole time. She would occasionally kick him here or hit him there, but most of the time it was just running back and forth. Until at last, she tackled him, they rolled in a somersault and Kari pinned him down with her foot while standing up. He had a bloody nose and was still grinning at her, cackling lightly.

"In fact, the last thing I heard was that he wanted to find you and kill you himself!" he giggled. Kari panted for breath, until she narrowed her eyes and glared at him.

"Don't you people _ever_ die?" she said irritably.

"That's my line," he said with a small smile. Kari bent down and grabbed the collar of his shirt, slamming him against the wall with a deafening _BAM_ and he grimaced in pain.

"Not anymore," she growled, her eyes flashing to a dark red.


	28. Forfeit

Part 27 – Forfeit

"Jean, Magneto's on Level 6."

"Say what?" came Logan's voice.

"How do you know that? Did you find him?" Jean asked.

"No. Just got a little inside info," Kari replied, motioning for Bobby and Kitty to follow her down the hallway.

"O…kay. Where are you now?"

"Still on Level 3," Bobby answered while they turned a corner and scanned for any enemies.

"Okay. Um…there should be a door on your left a few feet down in that hallway. That should lead to Level 5. You'll have to find your way from there. Logan and I will come for you, Jean and Storm are heading for Level 2." This was Scott.

"Okay, whatever. See you then."

Kari found the door and opened it without caution. She was still extremely angry by Toad's words. But from what she understood, he was lying spread-eagled in the hallway, bloody and beaten to a pulp after she had discerned Magneto's whereabouts from him. This was surprising to Kitty and Bobby, but they just stood there and watched until she finished. The both of them exchanged glances every minutes and just stared in half disbelief, have fear that she might turn to them looking for another target. After this event, they simply tried not to stare at her out of suspicion and fear as they walked. As they found Level 5 and continued to travel down the long hallways in search for something leading to Magneto, they weren't doing well on their part not to stare. Nevertheless, they remained silent.

Kari walked in front, but she knew the other two were looking at her. It seemed like a sixth sense, but she didn't blame them. She reached into her pocket and pulled out John's lighter looking down at it as she walked, running the tips of her fingers over it. Were Toad's words true? Did John really want revenge? She looked over her shoulder to get half a glance at the other two. She knew she had probably frightened them, but what else was she supposed to do?

"_**You could have let him go."**_

_What? And let him run and tell Magneto we were heading to him?_

"_**Even some enemies deserve mercy."**_

_This from the demon that continued to scream at me to kill John at all costs.  
_

"_**That was different."**_

_Oh really? How?_

"_**You had no idea who I was for one, and second, John was going to kill you anyway."**_

_Shut up._

"_**He had that look in his eyes, you knew he would have done it. It was kill or be killed."**_

_SHUT UP!_

Kari stopped suddenly, staring at the ground, unknowingly narrowing her eyes fiercely. She clenched her fist around the lighter tightly.

"Kari?" Bobby asked. She stood there, unresponsive. She continued to glare at the ground. Her hand shook as she flexed it around the small object.

_I thought you changed. It was this side of five minutes ago you were practically speaking with sympathy._

"_**I'm still a demon, Kari. I'll never change my methods. My main method is still kill or be killed. In Toad's case, he wasn't in the condition to even fight you."**_

_My ass he didn't._

"_**Fine. Don't listen to me. The only thing I will stand by is that almost every situation is kill or be killed. Though once your enemy is incapacitated, leave them to suffer. I still have a vengeful soul, but since yours is merged with mine, I've been shown the spirit of sympathy. Otherwise, I'm still the same. Nothing has changed."**_

_Bull shit._

Kari looked up, her fists still clenching. Bobby and Kitty exchanged glances for half a second. Kari sucked in a deep breath, and looked over her shoulder.

"Sorry. Let's keep going."

"Are you okay, Kari?" Kitty asked.

"I'm fine."

"Level 6!" Bobby said suddenly. Kari and Kitty stopped and Bobby pointed to a clearing where two double doors were. They all looked at each other and stood there. Kari slowly slipped the lighter back into her pocket.

"Shouldn't we wait for everyone else?" Kitty asked. Just as Bobby was about to make an answer when they heard small cries, like a struggle on either sides of the hallway, and yells of "MAGNETO'S THIS WAY!" and "HURRY, WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!"

Kari jumped back when she saw flashes of red and heard thuds. More yells and struggled, another red flash, and then Multiple Man's copies appearing out of nowhere. All at once the three teenagers were surrounded. The copies filled up the hallway and barricaded the two doors ahead of them.

"Back up, I'll hit them!" came Scott's voice.

"NO! You'll hit the kids!" came Logan's.

"Huh?"

Just over the heads of the copied men, Kari spotted Scott's red visor and felt a small rush of relief. At least they weren't alone now.

"Well, then get them, LOGAN!" Scott argued.

_BAMF!_

Kari cried out, startled, as Nightcrawler teleported with two other students, including Jubilee, who started shooting her energy at the copies. Nightcrawler leapt over their heads and fell into another group, attacking them from there.

"BOBBY!" Kari yelled. He nodded and shot ice all over the floor, freezing the copies to the ground by their ankles. Kari jumped and did a kick attack on several of Multiple Man's copies. As soon as she did, they disappeared and more appeared in their place.

"FIND THE ORIGINAL!" Logan yelled, cutting the others down as he ran around. Scott had to aim carefully to hit his targets, while the other students assisted in any way they could. Kurt did a couple _bamf_ attacks, teleporting the enemy onto another side of the hallway, and then shooting around the room in puffs of smoke, kicking and hitting, then disappearing.

"Cyclops, shoot the door!" Jubilee yelled.

"MOVE!" he yelled, pushing around the fighting mutants. He aimed and with a large red blast the two doors flew opened.

"GET INSIDE!" Logan yelled, "CYCLOPS, KILL THEM ONCE WE'RE IN!"

"ALL RIGHT!"

The students and Logan rushed inside and hid, backed against the wall and Scott shot a huge red blast down the hallway, eliminating all of the copies at once. Then there were no more.

"Wolverine, how nice of you to join us."

Everyone's gaze was suddenly torn to the middle of the room, where Magneto was sitting in a chair facing them, behind him a large panel of controls with three enormous screens.

"You were watching us, I take it?" Logan asked in a gruff tone, clenching his clawed hands.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I not warn you about the cameras?" Magneto said sarcastically. At his side were the original Multiple Man, Juggernaut…

…and John.

Kari froze, her eyes wide, not taking her eyes off of him. Bobby gave her a sideways glance.

"Cyclops, hit the computers," Logan said under his breath. There was a nod and Magneto began to speak.

"My congratulations to escaping the jets, I must admit I didn't think you would be able to get everyone out. Though I doubt you'll be able to get off of the lake."

Scott raised his hand and Kari yelled suddenly.

"NO!" She grabbed his arm and pulled it away.

"What are you doing!" Logan growled. Within the next few second, unnoticed sheets of metal leaned against the wall shifted, bent, and closed a cage around them.

"I'd love to stay and explain my whole plan, but I'd be late for my next attack."

Magneto stood up and the screens on the giant computer shut off.

"My boy, go get our patients, will you?"

"Of course." Multiple Man multiplied into at least ten and filed out of the room.

"Where are they going?" Bobby asked, mostly to the others.

"I understand you found my little storage area down in Level 2? They're going to retrieve them. I think they're ready."

"For what?" Kitty asked. Magneto merely smiled. Suddenly, there was a _bamf_ and Kurt appeared in the room.

"Nightcrawler!" Bobby said thankfully.

"Get us out of here, quick!" Jubilee exclaimed quickly. Kurt merely looked at them with a blank stare. Then he turned away from them.

"Kurt?" Kitty said.

And everyone watched with gaping expression as Kurt walked slowly over to Magneto, and gave an obedient bow.

"Take me," Magneto said in a low voice.

Everyone watched as Kurt nodded. Kari began to panic, even though she had still not taken her eyes from John. She felt a low growl erupt in her throat, and grabbed Logan's arms. He stared in complete confusion as she threw his hands across the new-formed metal bars of the cage, slicing them open enough for her to squeeze through. She jumped between the bars and sped at Magneto. She was seconds from him as Kurt wrapped his arms around the elder mutant when John appeared in front of her and in the blink of an eye, grabbed her arms and snapped them behind her back, locking her where she was, making her immobile. She kept her eyes wide in shock and fear, and then with a loud _bamf_, Kurt disappeared with Magneto.

"NO!" Logan yelled angrily. With another _bamf, _Kurt reappeared and grabbed John, disappearing with him as well, leaving Kari standing there with her arms still behind her back. She was in such shock that she was still under the belief John had his hands locked on her wrist, and his chin still resting on her shoulder angrily, making sure she didn't move a muscle. Like she was back in the simulation room, his hands were strong and solid, not budging once they had a grasp on her wrists. They also seemed uncaring, whether he snapped a bone or not, as long as he kept them locked in place. And the way he had his chin rested on her shoulder, as though he was trying to taunt her. She had frozen the whole time, hardly daring to even take a breath, and she almost swore she felt her heart stop its very beating.

She stood there, rooted to the ground, all the feeling in her body tingling in her wrists and her left shoulder, which she had forgotten had previously been impaled by Spyke's attack in the woods. As her mind subconsciously drifted to it, a gigantic jolt of pain ran to it and she suddenly realized the inside of her jacket was wet with blood. Whether it had soaked through or not, she wasn't sure, but she suddenly grasped it with her hand, clutching it tightly in hopes to stop the bleeding. It must have been opened recently, not before in the hallways, and she suspected it was because John had forced her arms behind her in such a quick motion that she felt her shoulders crack. As a faint echo she heard the _shink_ing of Logan's claws cutting through the rest of the metal bars and everyone rushed out, looking around. None of the Brotherhood in sight. Bobby ran to Kari, who seemed to turn pale and then suddenly stumbled to her knees. She shut her eyes tightly and looked down, watching thick trickles of blood lake into and over her half gloves.

"Kari, are you okay? You're bleeding!" Bobby said suddenly, kneeling down and seeing the small puddle of red that was forming under her arm. They heard a _bamf_ and Kurt appeared beside Scott, making him jump.

"YOU TRAITOR!" Logan yelled suddenly, retracting three claws on one of his hands to grab the teleporter's collar. Kurt widened his bright yellow eyes in fear and confusion. Logan raised his three claws on the other hand and held them close to the man's blue neck.

"W — WHAT?" Kurt cried helplessly.

"Logan, let him go," Kari said in a cracking tone. Logan turned his head with an angry glance.

"HE JUST LET MAGNETO ESCAPE!" he exclaimed furiously.

"No, I didn't! What are you talking about?" Kurt said innocently.

"He didn't do it, it wasn't him." Everyone stared at Kari. She grabbed Bobby's arm and pushed herself up.

"Teleport us outside, fast." Kurt looked completely confused, and Logan didn't look particularly happy about releasing him.

"Logan! Scott! Can you hear us?"

"What is it Jean?" both men said at the same time, giving each other side-glances and a pause.

"Kurt, take me outside," Kari mumbled. She was seeing spots in the sides of her eyes, and she clutched her shoulder harder.

"But —" Kurt started.

"TAKE US OUTSIDE!" Kari yelled, her head going light. She steadied herself on Bobby suddenly and he almost toppled to the side.

"Are you all right?" he asked, concerned.

"KURT!" Kari said, getting frustrated.

"Right, right, okay."

In a _bamf_ Kari found herself back outside. In another ten seconds, everyone in the room had been transported to the outside, Logan and Scott still talking with Jean.

"What the —" Bobby froze. The entire lake had been thawed from his previous motion, when he had frozen it all so Magneto could not drown them. It was all frozen now, and where there was a giant helicopter, that could easily fit around twenty people, floating in the air, next to it was Storm, her arms outstretched, clouds forming overhead. Everyone looked towards her as a wind picked up.

"They're CLONES Logan!" Jean said over the headset.

At the same time everyone said, "HUH?"

"Magneto's made clones! I don't know how but he's somehow gained access to our DNA, and he's using the "anti-virus" he made to activate our mutant genes!"

"You're kidding me," Scott said, dumbfounded.

"Obviously not, because Storm's out here, and she's fixin' to make on hell of a hurricane!" Logan said quickly. The wind picked up speed and rain started to fall. Then suddenly, a thick downpour started, coming down in dense sheets that doused them all in water. Kari blinked as much of it out of her eyes as she could. It was like trying to see through a water spattered windshield in a car. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the water, but she was only covered in more. It was pouring so fast and hard that she felt like she was imprisoned.

"LOGAN!" Bobby screamed suddenly. Everyone turned and saw the water behind the broken dam rising fast.

"SCOTT!"

Jean and Storm came rushing to them, apparently they had exited the underground with a few other students. Everyone already assumed the others to be dead. The water level was rising fast, and it had already risen about an inch over the landing gear of the jets.

"GET ONBOARD, NOW!"

Everyone ran for the first jet near them and Storm went to the controls, looking out of the front of the jet at herself, making this huge rainstorm.

"He's trying to flood us out," Kitty said quickly.

"Quick, strap in everyone!" Jean ordered. Everyone ran to their seats and Kari dropped into hers, losing her balance from the loss of blood. Her arm was now matted with water and blood, her gloves soaked and she was leaving a trail where she went. She unzipped her jacket and pulled it down far enough to see the sickening sight of her wound. Her shoulder soaked in blood in a horrifying splotch, sticking to her skin, spilled all the way down her arm and all over the inside of the jacket sleeve. She suddenly froze. Out of the window she saw the "cloned" Storm drop out of the sky and almost hit the ground. She levitated just a second before and landed with a soft thud. Magneto's helicopter landed quickly and he rushed out to help her. The rain was starting to thin out, and all at once a giant tidal wave started at the edge behind the dam.

"GET US IN THE AIR!" Logan yelled. Kari looked around frantically and saw Magneto put the clone's arm around his neck, helping her onto the plane. She clenched her fists and ran off the deck just before Storm shut it in order to keep the water from getting in. She heard yell from inside as she gathered all of her energy to run after Magneto before he could get to the helicopter. If the rest of X-Men were going to run, let them do it. She wasn't giving up. It was now or never to catch Magneto before he did something drastic to the human race. She was just close enough to grab him when he turned around and raised one hand. Small miniscule fragments of iron in the sand on the ground rose up and formed semi-round needles. They levitated, then shot at her, sending her flying backwards and pinning her to a piece of broken wall not far from the jet, a remain of the ruin. She hung there by the sleeves and back of her jacket due to the fact she had previously unzipped it. She tried to move, but all she could do was kick her legs helplessly as Magneto glared at her.

"Let it go, girl. You're not strong enough to defeat me. You should have realized that before. And now you're going to die here as the weak pretender. You should never have left your home. You've not the strength to fight this battle. You're a disgrace to the mutant race. Remember that as you die."

He turned and helped the clone into the helicopter, disappearing from sight. Then he reappeared by the door, giving her one last look. She felt the temperature drop at her feet and looked down with a gasp. The water was rising, and it was just now at the tip of her boots. She widened her eyes. That's what he had meant.

She was going to drown.

She tried to move her arms without success. She watched helplessly as the helicopter rose above ground level, and started lifting into the air. Among that image was Bobby running towards her.

"NO! BOBBY GET BACK ON THE JET! GO BACK!" she yelled. The tidal wave behind the dam was growing in height. It was merely seconds before it would come crashing down. They had to take off before that. She couldn't let them die.

"BOBBY, GO BACK! GET AWAY!"

"I'M NOT LEAVING YOU HERE!" he yelled.

"GET AWAY!" she repeated. She saw the cockpit of the jet and caught one glimpse of Kurt. He disappeared and reappeared by Bobby.

"NO!" he yelled as Kurt teleported him onto the jet. She watched them reappear inside as Bobby struggled to get out. Storm activated the engines and started liftoff. She knew she had no chance to follow them. She was stuck there, and she was going to die. She dropped her head and stared hopelessly at her feet, watching the water level rise. Soon it would consume her and she would drown. She felt time slow down, and it was though all she could hear was her heartbeat, it pounded in her ears as she realize her fate. All because she had been arrogant.

_("You are SO arrogant, you know that?")_

She narrowed her eyes.

_("Me, arrogant? Look who's talking, Ms. 'I act smart and use big words to insult people.'")_

She widened her eyes slowly and heard John's voice ring in her head.

_("When are you ever going to leave me ALONE!")_

She looked up through her wet hair and saw Magneto's helicopter lifting slowly.

_("Look at you! You're nothing like me. Who are you to tell me what to do? I can do things far beyond your abilities. So quit acting like you know everything. Quit acting like you know _me_.")_

Kari felt her fists clench and she bent her knees, putting her feet flat against the wall. She pushed as hard as she could and her arms slipped out of the jacket, exposing her wound to the freezing air. She felt a rush of harsh stinging and winced. She landed on one knee in the inch deep water. She looked up and watched the X-Jet hovering above the lake. Looking behind her, she watched the tidal wave stop its massive growth, and then begin to drop. She cried out and ran. She ran for her life. She ran for everything she had once fought for. She ran for Bobby. She ran for Kitty.

And she ran for John.

Speeding as fast as she could, splashing water into the air above her head until she swore she was running on top of the water. She felt the ground rising above her and realized she was running on an incline that lead up to a hill. The helicopter looked the size of a dollar bill at the base of it, and as she ran, she got closer to it.

_CREVAN!_ she yelled for help. She felt her feet move faster, her lugs pump harder. She gritted her teeth as she ran up, up, until she came to the edge of incline. With all the speed she had, she kicked off and jumped all the way to the door of the helicopter. Again, everything was in slow motion. The tidal wave crashed down seconds before she had kicked off, bashing into everything under it, ripping and crumbling everything left on the ground. Just as she her feet left the ground, the water came flooding over the spot she had jumped from with a great _whoosh,_ and crashed over the remaining rocks and trees, covering everything in a deep pool of ice water.

She had lunged, her fangs the only part of her transformation left, which were baring fiercely at Magneto, who saw her out of the corner of his eye, and turned in shock. He backed up a step. She was centimeters from the entrance of the door, a mere two feet from him, when John rushed from his seat and leapt at her in Magneto's stead. Knocking all remaining breath from her lungs, all 155 pounds of him slammed into her, earning a wide-eyed silent scream from Magneto, and both teenagers plummeted to the icy black lake.


	29. Hades

Part 28 - Hades

Kari watched the helicopter fly upwards faster as she fell, and Magneto leaning halfway out of the door, watching in shock as John fell with her. The look in his face was a mix of shock, gratitude, and confusion, as though he was saying to himself, "Why would he do this? Why would he risk his life for me?" He also showed that he had underestimated John's loyalty. As Kari read all of these emotions, she felt sick. The John she knew would never sacrifice himself for anyone. And the fact that he had now learned the meaning of sacrifice, and he was exhibiting it by protecting the X-Men's worst enemy, was even more disgusting to her than the thought that John was about to kill her.

On the jet, Bobby and Kitty had their faces pressed against the windows, staring in horror that had formed from a split second of admiration. When Bobby had been teleported back onto the jet and struggled to get back to Kari, he watched as she kicked off from the wall and ran at Magneto's aircraft. His first thought was a scream, and a splash of fear that she was going to get herself killed fast. When the tidal wave crashed down, everyone onboard thought that Kari had for sure been whisked away by it. But one closer look, Kitty screamed at the top of her lungs and pointed o the sky, where Kari was flying at the helicopter. Everyone watched with wide eyes and mouths as she leapt. As Bobby surveyed this, he felt a pang of admiration for her. Never had he seen some one so determined, nevertheless some one with as much valor as he saw in that girl. Not even Logan or Scott could compare. Then when he thought of that, he asked himself sternly how he could possibly even try to compare them to Kari. It was still a question though, of why she was so determined to get to Magneto. Why it had pushed her so hard to ignore the searing pain in her arm, to run beyond her human, and even mutant, limit, and make a death-defying leap at something that was only certain to kill her. Was she really ready to giver her life for the death of this man?

Or was it really Magneto she was after? This hit Bobby and Kitty the hardest. Was she just trying to get to John? Was that really all she cared about? She wanted to kill herself over it? Was she really that crazy? Her body soared through the air like a leaping cougar, fangs bared in an angry grimace, a look of unwavering concentration in her eyes. As Bobby's gaze of admiration formed, it changed to horror in a split second as he watched another body leap from the helicopter and slam with all its force against Kari, reversing their direction, and sending them both into a free fall into the dark lake. Bobby had pounded his fists against the window and yelled at the top of his lungs as everyone gazed with the same expression.

Kari was still in the free fall, watching Magneto. She had finally comprehended what had happened, and all that flooded through her now like the water below was straight, pure fury. Whoever this mutant was had just hindered her assassination, and she was not taking it lightly. Only her subconscious was now thinking clearly. Her front mind activated her body. She had been falling headfirst, and she now flipped head over heels, and slammed her foot into the side of John's head. Watching blood spew from his mouth, she twisted in the air and kicked him again on the opposite side. He clenched his teeth painfully and wiped the splatters of red from the side of mouth. His jaw ached furiously, and he tackled Kari again, hitting her where she had just kicked him. Soon they were in an all out mid-air brawl. And just as soon, they both forgot they were in the air. Hitting and kicking everywhere possible, Kari was already halfway dead. Feeling as though she was drained of all her blood, she kept going. If she couldn't kill Magneto, she would kill him. She forgot he was John, forgot why she cared about him, forgot everything they had once said to each other, forgot he was purely stronger than her, and forgot that she had once done this before. As the X-Men and the Brotherhood glued their eyes to this fight, everything in slow motion, until Kari had gone tone deaf. All she heard again was her heartbeat, pounding like a gigantic drum in her ears. Her eyes flared angrily and she kicked her leg back, swinging it around and kicking him one last time in the head. He was knocked to the side, flailing limply in the air, more blood flying from his lips and nose. She watched his head turn with strain and he flattened his arms at his sides. He was at least fifteen feet above her and they were still falling. He stiffened himself like a board and shot at her in a dive. She widened her eyes and felt him slam into her again, wrapping his arms around her in anger, hoping with all of his will that she would die from impact.

The last image Kari saw was the picture of John flying at her, and as his body dragged her down, the horrified expressions of her two friends, miniscule in the windows of the jet.

"_KARI!_"

After that, they both plunged into the icy water, and Bobby's heart stopped.


	30. Useless

Part 29 - Useless

**Four Days Later**

Kitty was sitting outside of the mansion, in an enclosed grassy area on the side of the campus, where many small stone monuments were placed. They were for the students that had been lost at Alkali Lake. Kitty was sitting on her knees in front of one with Kari's name scrawled into the stone. She swallowed and remembered watching her friend's body disappear into a shimmering lake surface. Given it had only been four days, it still felt like yesterday, and it practically was. She remembered when Kari had first come to the school, and she had walked through the wall and scared her while she had been laying on the bed listening to her music. How she had been so sarcastic and questioning. She smiled. And when she had met Rogue and Bobby. And John.

Her smile slightly faded. What a strange thought. That day when she had seen John on the bleachers. Their first little spat. How ironic that they would both be dead at the bottom of a lake together, because one was so determined to make an insane jump in mid air, and the other was ready to give everything to save the other's enemy. Kitty scoffed, and then felt her eyes stinging, ready to well up. She immediately moved her hand and rubbed her eyes, sucking in a deep breath and letting it out as a sigh.

"Hey."

Bobby came up behind her, hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket. Since it was now the beginning of November, it was chilly. Kitty herself was in a dark colored sweater with a hood and a pair of jeans.

"Hey," she answered with a tiny smile.

"You doing okay?" he asked softly. Kitty was about to nod and say yes, before she looked up at him, and her eyes stung worse, tears streaming down her face. He knelt down and wrapped his arms around her.

"Why did she leave the jet?" Kitty cried, clutching the back of Bobby's jacket tightly with her fingers.

* * *

"Magneto's escaped, taking the lives of our students with him." Charles Xavier cast a gloomy gaze out of the window, watching Bobby hold Kitty outside. 

"We have to find him, Professor, we don't know how many clones he's made, not to mention what he plans to do with them!" Jean said. The adults, including Xavier, Jean, Logan, Scott, Storm, and Kurt were gathered in the professor's office. Some standing, others on a sofa in the middle of the room. Xavier was behind his desk, staring out the window.

"Yes, I know. But you know yourself that I cannot track him with _Cerebro._"

"Then track down one of the Brotherhood! Multiple Man, or Juggernaut! Find them, you find Magneto!" Logan said impatiently.

"It's too dangerous," Xavier insisted.

"DANGEROUS! HOW! The only thing dangerous about this whole ordeal is that YOU'RE too fucking lazy to find someone who's a potential threat to the entire human race! Not to make a pun, BUT GET OFF YOUR ASS AND JUST DO IT!"

After this series of yells, Logan stormed out of the room in a huff. Jean and Storm exchanged half-second glances and then looked at Xavier, who had simply narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

"Not to seem like I'm choosing sides, but I believe he has a point," Kurt said lightly. Xavier gave him a half glare.

"All I'm saying is that you haven't exactly done much in this matter. Half of this school is dead, and you haven't done anything to go after the man who's responsible." Kurt leaned his head on his fist and Charles seemed to be getting very angry.

"Hey, lay off, Nightcrawler, he's done as much as he can," Scott said in his defense.

"Whatever. I'm going to get some lunch." Kurt got up, his tail swishing as he walked out the door. As he left, Warren came in quietly. Everyone looked up.

"I was…wondering if I could speak to the professor alone?" he asked timidly. Everyone looked around at each other, gave a few sighs, and left the two men alone.

"Yes, Warren, what is it?" the professor asked, sounding not at all interested.

"I uh…well, my father worked with the scientist who developed the first virus…and…I think that's where Magneto might be headed." The blonde boy looked up, almost with despair, and Charles stared at him.

"Why is that?"

"Well, I know Magneto's been a bit…vengeful lately, and I know he's against 'curing' mutants, and I just made the assumption he would want to go straight for the source."

Charles mulled this over for a minute, then nodded to himself.

"Thank you Warren, I'll speak with you later, I need to consider a few things for a while."

Warren nodded, and left the room, his wings folded neatly on the outside of his gray T-shirt. He passed Jubilee in the hallway, gave her a smile and she returned it. She headed down the hallway towards one of the rooms. It had been easy to get used to the new mansion. It was constructed exactly like the original, except the underground, so the hallways were pretty much the same. She turned a corner, and entered a bedroom, where Rogue was sitting silently on her bed, staring out the window with a look of insane jealousy painted in her eyes.

"Rogue?"

She jumped and turned her head.

"Oh, hey Jubilee."

"Are you all right?" the other girl asked, walking beside her. She saw what Rogue had been staring at. Bobby and Kitty were sauntering around the campus, talking with concerned looks on their faces, undoubtedly talking about Alkali Lake. Nonetheless, Rogue didn't like it.

"Ever since you guys came back, they haven't left each others' side," Rogue said in a half complaint.

"Well, in their defense, they did go through it together. It was a hard experience, I don't blame them."

"I've hardly said two words to Bobby since he got back! And Kitty hasn't even spoken to me!"

Jubilee stared. "Can you really blame them yourself?"

Rogue gazed out the window skeptically.

* * *

Down on the grounds, Kitty and Bobby both had their hands shoved into their coat pockets, 

"I just don't know what to think anymore. We lost so many students! They _knew_ none of them were ready! Why were they taken?" Kitty said sadly, "Why was _Kari_ taken?"

Bobby breathed through his nose and they heard a rumble from the clouded sky. Miniscule drops started spattering around them slowly.

"I wish none of this had never happened. I wish that stupid virus was never made, I wish we had never gone to that lake, I wish the school was never attacked, I wish people would just leave mutants alone! We're just as much human as they are! We have a right to live in peace, why can't let give us that?" she vented pitifully.

"I know. If it weren't for people like Magneto, they wouldn't see us as such a threat. Every mutant is different, but they can't see that! Not every mutant is like you and me. Some are actually dangerous, like Magneto…and John."

Bobby's pace slowed to a stop and he stared at the ground after he mentioned his old friend.

_("I'm not joking, man, I saw them. They changed! She is a mutant!")_

_("John, you heard what she said, even the teachers don't think she's a mutant.")_

_("You have to believe me! I know I saw them change! She looked…evil.")_

_("She was probably pissed because you knocked her down.")_

_("I know that, but I mean, she almost looked like she was going to hit me.")_

_("DUH!")_

_("I can't explain anything to you, can I?")_

_("Look, if she is a mutant, which for now, she still ISN'T. She would have told us!")_

_("Maybe she still doesn't know. Maybe we should ask Professor Xavier.")_

_("You do whatever you want, but I'm telling you, you didn't see anything. You were panicking because you got caught, that's all.")_

_("Maybe…")_

Bobby let out a shuddering sigh and Kitty turned to look at him.

"Bobby?" she asked lightly. Bobby shut his eyes, looking hurt, and shook his head.

"It's unbelievable," he muttered with a choked scoff. He looked at Kitty and the rain started pouring. He looked at Kitty and she took slow steps towards him, running her hands around him in a hug. He gratefully accepted it, holding her tightly.


	31. Captured

Part 30 - Captured

White.

Red.

Black.

Spinning.

She was spinning.

Something was pressing against her face.

Something grainy.

Something was itching at the tip of her nose.

The smell of dirt.

Her eyelids felt like steel as she opened them, slow as a snail moved.

A breath.

A heartbeat.

Some one standing beside her with a blurred face.

A numb body.

Her eyes closed.

Voices.

A tiny light.

A flash.

A pain in her head.

Her shoulders were hunched.

She was being carried.

Black.

* * *

Half open eyes. 

Spinning faces.

The world was still spinning.

More voices.

The sliding of metal.

She was thrown to the ground.

Her eyes again shut to that blissful black.

* * *

Her body tingled, shaking in spasms of pain. Her eyes blinked slowly. Her face was pressed flat against something lightly warm, most likely from her body heat. Had she been laying there for long? Small black spots hindered the sides of her vision. She lifted her head not even a millimeter from the ground before it dropped back uncooperatively. She was so tired. Her body was face down on something flat and hard. She made a half grunt and blinked slowly. Her head was throbbing. What had happened? The last thing she remembered was the flood and watching John and…she let out a painful sigh and half closed her eyes. Where the hell was she? 

She continued to blink slowly, feeling her muscles twinge every now and again.

Was she at the mansion?

No, this place was cold.

And there was no one around.

Maybe she was alone, in one of the rooms?

No. She was on a floor.

A cold, stone floor.

She made a half moaning noise, her throat dry and tight.

She thought she made a move to push herself up, but she had imagined it, like she was dreaming. Her body was too numb to move.

She blinked again. Her face was still flat against the hard stone floor.

The outline of something.

A boy.

He looked her age, maybe a little older.

Who was he?

He looked somewhat familiar. His hair was matted against his face in what seemed to be sweat and water. His mouth was half open; a small breath could be heard rasping quietly from it.

Was he asleep?

Or unconscious?

She couldn't tell. He was sprawled out on the ground a few feet from her. The sides of his face were bruised, like he had been beaten.

She observed him for a second, and swallowed. Her throat was scratchy.

She heard footsteps.

Dull and thudding.

Like the sound of boots.

She let her eyes travel to look above her head exhaustedly.

An upside down man.

His face was dark, maybe covered by a mask.

Her vision was blurring and she couldn't tell. He walked past them without an acknowledgement.

She tried moving her arm, making and tired groan.

The boy opened his eyes.

They flickered for a moment, and then looked at her. With a struggle, he pushed himself onto his knees, slouching over and rubbing his eyes, then his head, messing up his hair so it stuck out funny.

She closed her eyes, they were now to tired to stay open. They boy turned his head with half lidded eyes and stared at her. He raised one eyebrow slightly and she heard him shuffle across the ground towards her, shaking her shoulder a bit.

She hardly noticed.

But she opened her eyes and he stared down at her.

She blinked and her vision cleared once he spoke her name.


	32. Plot Revealed

Part 31 – Plot Revealed

"J…Jubilee?" he moaned.

Jubilee.

That was her name.

Yes, she remembered. Jubilee, she was a student of Xavier's and they had gone to Alkali Lake for…

"Magneto! Where is he?" she said, coughing from the dryness of her throat.

"I don't know…" the boy answered quietly. She didn't really recognize him, she had seen him a few times at the school, and was trying to remember his name.

"S…Sunfire?"

"Yeah?" he answered, clearing his throat roughly.

Now she remembered him. He was a smart kid, but was always getting into trouble by association. Always in the wrong place at the wrong time. She attempted a smile, but only succeeded in her head. Her body was still completely numb except her eyelids.

"Where are we?" Sunfire asked.

"No clue," Jubilee answered dryly.

Suddenly, there was a slam of metal and some on dragged Jubilee to her feet. She was completely unstable, and they held her limply under her arms.

"Wait, where are you taking her?" Sunfire asked quickly. The man, who had his face covered, looked at the boy as he sat up on his knees. With a smirk unseen by the children, he kicked the boy onto his back and left with the limp girl.

"JUBILEE!" Sunfire screamed, crawling to the barred metal door. He watched her feet drag across the floor and around a corner out of sight. "_JUBILEE!_"

* * *

"Do you think Bobby likes her?"

"Honestly?"

Jubilee sat next to Rogue.

"Yeah, I do."

"Thanks, reassuring." Rogue set her chin in her hands and set her elbows on her knees.

"But Bobby still likes me right?" she asked.

"Duh, he wouldn't be dating you if he didn't."

"But what if he leaves me for her?"

"Oh, get over it."

Jubilee sparked her hands and hit Rogue in the side of the head. She fell unconscious, and look outside the window. It was raining now and Bobby and Kitty were standing in it, arms around each other in a mournful hug. She rolled her eyes and looked at the door. Nobody coming. She grabbed Rogue's arms and dragged her to the corner of the room, and pulled a tiny radio from her pocket.

* * *

Outside, Bobby ran his hands over Kitty's back and they slowly separated.

"What if we have to go back to Alkali Lake?" Kitty asked.

"Why? There's nothing there to go back to," he added. After he did so, he felt a pang of guilt. Kitty obviously noticed and he looked at the ground.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, it's just —"

"I know," Kitty cut him off, "It's all right."

"And I mean, we can't exactly explain to everyone who wasn't there what happened, I mean, we're the only _students_ left who know! Next to Jubilee. Everyone here doesn't even know what _really_ happened, and how it's affected us!"

"I know, they probably never will either."

_Bamf_.

Kitty and Bobby froze.

"Did you hear that?" he whispered. Kitty gave a small nod.

_BAMF._

It was closer now, and it rustled the bushes near them. They heard it over the rain. They saw remnants of blue smoke trail and be taken by the raindrops.

"It's probably just Nightcrawler checking the grounds." Bobby suggested. Kitty nodded and they dismissed it.

_BAMF!_

_Bamf… _

Kitty raised an eyebrow at Bobby, who mirrored her face, then looked around. They never heard it again.

"Perimeter check?" Bobby added.

"Yeah."

* * *

Back in Rogue's room, she and Jubilee were nowhere to be found. Kitty heard a helicopter a few miles off as she Bobby headed inside.

* * *

"Ah, perfect, thank you my dear."

Magneto leaned back admirably in his chair with a smile of approval as Jubilee held Rogue, dead passed out, in her arms.

"Take her to the extraction room, Nightcrawler, fuel the helicopter. Juggernaut, ready another tank."

Everyone nodded and went to do his or her command. Magneto turned and looked at a monitor nearest him. It had several panels of security screens, each pictured with a green filled tank supporting an unconscious host.

"Almost everyone now…" he said to himself.

* * *

Bobby walked around with one eyebrow lowered in confusion.

"Hey, hey, WARREN! Warren!" he said quickly, stopping the winged man as he walked past. "Have you seen Rogue?"

"No, sorry."

Bobby sighed and continued down the hallway. Rogue had been missing for two hours. It didn't seem like her. He saw Kitty look into a room, then walk towards him.

"Any luck?" he asked.

"No. I can't find Jubilee either, I was going to ask her if she'd seen her."

"Let's get the professor," Bobby said quickly, grabbing her arm.

They arrived at his office and opened the door, where he was once again gazing out of the window in a gloomy stare.

"Professor?" Kitty asked cautiously.

"Yes?" he said calmly, turning around.

"We need your help, Rogue's gone."

"Rogue's what?" said a voice. Logan had been passing by and Bobby had left the door open.

"Rogue's gone, we can't find her," Kitty explained.

"Come, we'll use _Cerebro_." The professor made his way across the room.

"Oh, NOW he uses the machine," Logan complained in an exasperated grumble.

The professor led them to an elevator, then traveled down to the machine, making them wait outside. In another ten minutes, after the door had been shut, he came back out.

"I must speak with Warren," he said immediately.

"What, did you find her?" Bobby asked in a rush.

The professor didn't answer, instead just headed back to the elevator, causing a large flood of impatience on the others' side.

"Warren!" the professor said so suddenly that the man jumped. He had been heading back to his room after seeing Bobby only moments before.

"Yes?"

"You spoke of the laboratory before. Where is it located?"

"Er…it's an old abandoned facility now, I think protestors set a bomb to it. It's much like Alkali Lake, actually, but just on the outskirts of it, really. It's somewhere far from the site, but it's in the same region. Old and abandoned now, I remember my father telling me about it before he discontinued his work."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Hm." The professor looked pondering for a moment, and then turned to Logan, who had followed him, Bobby and Kitty peeking behind him.

"Professor!" Storm came jogging down the hallway. "You might want to see this."

After heading down the hallway and stopping in a room where a TV was blaring a message concerning mutants, everyone fell silent.

"…and the government is pleased to announce that they are in fact, dispatching all military units in search of any mutant based study labs. These units are on command by familiar mutant protestor Daren Richardson," a picture of Richardson appeared in the corner of the screen, "All units have been ordered to search all research facilities, and confiscate all studies in the suspicion that there are experiments going on that are trying to develop a virus to make humans _become mutant_," the reporter was saying. He was standing in front of what looked like a shut down laboratory, and under him the screen showed the message **LIVE FROM TEXAS** in large letters. "There are rumors that were recently confirmed by the government that there had been secret experiments being done in _Canada_ near the mountains, where our most infamous mutant here in the US, 'Magneto', was last known to have disappeared. The Canadian Parliament has granted the US government permission to explore this area due to the fact it was a US based operation…"

"Canada?" Bobby said suddenly.

"Alkali Lake," Warren said quickly. Everyone looked at him. "They find Alkali Lake, they find the old laboratory of my father's, where Magneto may be hiding."

"They find Magneto, they find our clones," Kitty added in panic.

"They could track us down back here. He'd be framing us!" Storm caught on soon.

"Which is exactly what Eric wants. Ready the Jet, Storm, grab Scott and Kurt. You have to move quickly." The professor said this in a rush.

"So, this whole thing was he wanted to frame us?" Storm questioned, trying to understand.

"Eric obviously wants a replication of the entire X-Men team, meaning he knows we're powerful and he needs that power to assist him in working out his plan, which, inevitably, is to rid this world of the humans. In this attempt, he hopes that by using your copies, the government will come after us, distracted, per say, so as they track us down, he can carry out his plan."

"Complex, but I must admit, genius," Warren said on the side.

"Ready the jet, you must leave now. We have to find Magneto before the government does."

"But doesn't that mean illegally crossing into Canada?" Bobby asked.

"We did it before, you complain now?" Logan cut in.

"Immigration, I like it," Bobby said sarcastically, "But what about Rogue?"

"And Jubilee?" Kitty spoke up.

"By our chances, they've been taken by Magneto, let's move." Logan tapped their arms as he sprinted from the room. Bobby and Kitty gave each other nauseated expressions.


	33. The Weakness

Part 32 – The Weakness

"One final battle for the infamous X-Men," Kitty said as she pulled on her gloves. Bobby was strapping up his boots and she suddenly stopped quietly. He stood upright and sighed, then saw the way she was staring at the ground.

"What?" he asked softly.

"It's just…now that Rogue and Jubilee are gone…and Kari was…" she trailed off and he raised his eyebrows lightly.

"What?" he repeated. She looked up at him with pitiful eyes.

"We're the only ones left." Bobby watched her tense up and he swallowed sympathetically, pulling her into a hug.

"I won't lose you, right?" she asked.

"No," he promised, "You won't lose me."

"Hey, break it up, we have to go."

Logan's voice shattered the once comforting moment and Bobby rubbed Kitty's back in another motion of sympathy as they headed for the jet.

"We'll be at Alkali Lake within two hours," Storm announce as she and Jean warmed up the engines.

"Heaven might be our destination after that," Kitty scoffed sarcastically. Bobby gave her a weak smile and looked out the window as the jet rose and took off into the sky. She let loose a small sigh and tried her best to keep a nice mood. Now wasn't the time to be helpless.

Which was exactly what Kari had thought.

She blinked and shifted her gaze to the floor of the jet. That's exactly what she had thought. Kari had risked her life because she knew running away was not the solution. Everyone was running. They were giving into helplessness. And Kari knew it. Why hadn't Kitty seen it before? She knew there was still a chance. A chance to catch Magneto and end it. She knew there was still a chance, and so did the X-Men, but they were ready to give it up at the drop of a hat.

Kari wanted to use every chance she got. And she did. Kitty made a small conclusion about this. Her conclusion was, that was the weakness of the X-Men. They gave up most of the chances they got. Together, they could have captured Magneto, ended the stupid fight, and even prevented Kari's death.

_("Do you like him?")_

Kitty blinked and saw Kari standing in the hallway with an apple in hand.

_("JOHN? You're crazy.")_

_("Oh please. It's practically written on your forehead.")_

She watched Kari's hand with the apple drop in disbelief, sort of a skeptical gleam in her eye.

_("Oh, give me break. Saying I like John is like saying you like Bobby.")_

She remembered her sideways glance, and feeling a small blush rushing to her cheeks in seconds.

_("You like Bobby!")_

She almost giggled to herself.

_("SHH!")_

_("Are you serious?")_

_("Sort of. I don't know. But hey, if I do, guess who likes John.")_

Kitty remembered it in her eyes.

_("Oh, shut up.")_

She watched the image fade and she was left staring at the seat in front of her. Bobby turned his head.

"Kitty?" he asked gently. Kitty swallowed dryly and half smiled to herself, feeling it falter as her eyes attempted to shed tears. She took in a stuttering breath and rubbed her eye.

"I'm fine," she insisted. Bobby nodded understandingly and turned his glance to the window beside him. Kitty turned her own eyes to her window and watched the clouds beside the jet, hearing Kari's joyful laugh echoing in her head. She remembered leaving the house after that and how they had their three-second crack-a-smile glance that no one else noticed. She sighed and felt her stomach turn over, causing a wave of nausea to run over her. She clenched her jaw and breathed slowly. Then a sickening realization came to her.

She would die as well.

* * *

"Sir, military is approaching," Arclight said quickly, jogging into the room. Magneto sighed, sounding bored. 

"Very well." He stood up and followed his friend outside, where a few helicopters were monitoring the area and footsteps could be heard approaching the area. He looked at Arclight, merely nodded and she clapped her hands together, sending a huge shockwave through the trees. Thuds, a few cries, and then Multiple Man divided into numerous copies, running into the fray.

"Tell me when you've finished." Magneto glanced up, raised his hand and the helicopters faltered, then zigzagged and swerved. Then with three huge explosions, they came crashing into the trees. He turned with a swish of his cape and retreated back inside. It wouldn't be long before the X-Men arrived. Which was exactly what he wanted. He made a small smile and entered his monitoring room, sitting back down, awaiting his foe.

* * *

"Sir, we have two subjects on the shore." 

"State?"

"Unconscious sir, they appear to be dead. Do we take them in?"

"Affirmative. Have the bodies searched and shipped back to base."

"Roger that, sir." The soldier pocketed his radio and called for assistance, then had the two bodies carried onto a helicopter. Flown over a high hill, where a military base was set up, mostly just tents and jeeps and such, merely fifteen, twenty miles from Magneto's base. Under the impression Magneto wasn't aware of their presence, which he actually wasn't, they had reinforcements set there. And word had just spread there was a hoard of mutants guarding him, so more were being called in. As the helicopter landed, the bodies were rushed into a tent and set onto medical tables. An hour later, the general was called in.

"Stone cold sir, their gone," the soldier said. The general surveyed the corpses. He stuck his chest out in a deep breath and pulled off one of his gloves. He rested his fingers on the face of the girl, then the face of the boy. His private was right. Stone cold, and limp as a dead fish. Soaked through and through by the water of the lake, drowning, probably, he thought to himself.

"Dispose of the bodies, sir?"

"No," he answered thoughtfully.

"What is it, sir?" the private asked. The general looked in deep thought and worry.

"They could be Magneto's deviants."

"Yes, sir?"

"Have them hit with the virus, keep them contained. It could be a mutant trick, but either way, I want to be sure."

"But sir —"

"I gave an order private, and that's the last word of this discussion!" the elder man snapped.

"Yes sir!" said the younger, giving a quick salute and rushing from the tent to greet the medics of the situation. The general gave one last look at the bodies and exited the tent. As he past the private and the medics, he muttered, "Have them searched."

"Yes sir," all three of the others said. They went into the tent and stared at the bodies. The suspicion of them being dead mutants seemed to linger in the air, and suddenly none of them wanted to touch the corpses. They all swallowed spontaneously and took slow steps towards them.

"I have the virus here," the first medic said, handing a small needle to the other.

"Right."

It was injected first into the boy's arm, and then into the girl's. The needles were deposited into a small bag and the private searched the boy's clothes. Faded blood stains here and there. Undoubtedly mostly washes away by the river. It was impossible to tell how long the bodies had been there, or whether they had been submerged long. The girl's sleeve near her shoulder was drenched in spots of red. He lifted it lightly, seeing the large wound looking as though she had been stabbed previously to her death. He stepped back and sighed, surveying them again. One thing for sure, they were dead.


	34. Screwed

Part 33 - Screwed

"Okay, we're nearing Alkali Lake," Storm announced. She didn't sound particularly thrilled about finding Magneto. Neither did any of the crew. But everyone stayed quiet.

"Now, just the same rules as before, don't do anything rash…don't…" Storm attempted to say the next sentence, but it didn't come out. They heard her sigh quietly and Logan decided to be blunt and, to say the least, be insensitive.

"Don't be like Kari," he said blandly. Kitty jerked her head slightly and almost made a rude comment, but kept her mouth closed, offended or not. Bobby glanced at her and then at Logan in front of them. Storm tried to ignore his remark and said, "We'll be at Magneto's base within twenty minutes."

A dead silence flattened the lot of them, and they soared over Alkali Lake.

* * *

"Sir, sixty-minute report!" The private came into his general's tent. 

"Report," the general said lazily, flipping through some documents.

"The bodies have made no response. We still conclude they're dead."

"You've searched them?"

"The appear to have wounds prior to their death, which we believe was drowning."

"Prior to death?"

"We uh…we think there was a battle and they…just…we're not sure."

"You want to run that by me again?" the general said sternly, looking up from his papers.

"The uh…the bodies have injuries that aren't healed, and they're pretty beaten up, from what we can tell, but the strangest part is, they're only teenagers."

"Teenagers?" the general repeated.

"…yes."

"How old?"

"Fifteen, maybe sixteen." The general pondered for a moment.

"Fifteen, sixteen…they had to be mutants, there's no other reason for them to be out here…"

"Magneto's?"

"Undoubtedly. Have them contained, we'll take them back to Washington for study."

"Yes sir." The private saluted and walked out of the tent. The medics standing in front of the containment tent looked up as he approached.

"Have them monitored, we're shipping them to Washington."

The medics nodded and the private pulled out a radio as they entered the tent.

* * *

"We're here," Storm reported for the fiftieth time. 

"Oh, joy," Logan said sarcastically.

Bobby snickered and Kitty managed a weak smile. The two teenagers gave a glance around the jet.

Warren, Kurt, Logan, Jean, Storm, Scott, and them. Eight fighters. Against who knows how many mutants, plus the US Army. They gave each other a look that clearly said the same thing.

_We're screwed._

_

* * *

_

"News?"

"Successful extraction, sir," Multiple Man said.

"Good. Take her to the Termination Room."

"Yes sir."

Multiple Man grabbed Rogue under her arms and dragged her out of the room. Magneto rubbed his temple and stared disdainfully at the monitors before him. One showed the last of the Army recruits being taken out by the Brotherhood. One showed panels of a perimeter around the base, and the other showed the X-Jet hovering into a land.

Wait…

He turned and did a double take at the monitor.

"Well, well, took them long enough, did it?" he said to himself.

"Retreated, sir," said a panting Arclight. Callisto walked around behind her and came up to the leader.

"And where have you been?" he asked casually.

"No mutants are near the area, save the X-Men. They just arrived. And Juggernaut scoped out a secret military hold on the other side of the woods."

"Take them. I'm going to greet our friends."

"Right. Arclight." Callisto started for the door and Magneto suddenly stopped her.

"Wait. The military, they're on the coast?"

"Yes," Callisto answered, raising an eyebrow.

"They have guns?"

"Yes."

Magneto smiled.

"Send the volley to the military hold. The X-Men are coming." He gave a small snicker and pressed a button by one of the monitors. All of the screens bearing images of the clones submerged in tanks faltered for a second, and the tanks slowly began to drain. A panel on the side of the glass opened and the clones were seen coughing. Callisto gave a small evil grin, and motioned for Arclight to follow. They headed down to the lower levels to retrieve their allies.

Magneto smiled and grabbed his helmet, heading out of the base into the woods.

* * *

"I'm not picking up any activity nearby," Jean said to the others. 

"Hey, bird-boy, you wanna check it out from above?" Logan asked. Warren narrowed his eyes sarcastically and flapped his large wings, hovering around thirty feet above them. He rose a bit more and soared ahead a bit.

"It's too quite," Kitty said to Bobby. He nodded and looked around. Warren came back down and landed almost daintily, sending up some bits of dust as he folded his wings.

"We're in trouble," he said blankly.

"What kind of trouble?" Kurt asked.

"Oh God, oh God, we're about to die?" Warren asked with a raised eyebrow.

"WARREN," Storm said impatiently.

"Remember when you said you found those clones in the other lab? There's a whole army of them to the east, and they're apparently fighting our military, it was hard to see, but I definitely saw some camo jeeps."

"We head east," Storm said, starting to walk. By the time they got there, all of them wanted to puke.

There were bodies everywhere, strewn about, bloody, dead, some pinned to trees, some spread-eagled on the dirt, some half hanging on branches. And what made them the sickest was the fact they were watching themselves create this massacre. Every X-Men you could image was there, torturing, killing at will.

Except, every X-Men but the ones there. That was confusing to them, but they had half a second to comprehend it all before Kitty had to phase herself and Bobby as to not get impaled by Spyke. It was at that moment everyone kicked into action. The camp was maybe three hundred square feet, so quite large, but that didn't mean there was space between the dead bodies. As Kitty tried to resist retching, Bobby pulled her behind a jeep as Spyke tried to shoot at them again.

"CYCLOPS!" Logan yelled. In a flash of red three mutants of the Brotherhood were blown backwards, and everyone joined the fray. Hitting punching, kicking, stabbing, shooting, it was all there.

Bobby froze.

Cyclops shot.

Logan stabbed.

Everyone was killing. Tents were being ripped. Jeeps were being overthrown, bodies were being kicked about.

And then reinforcements came. US Army reinforcements. Helicopters and more jeeps, tanks, and grenades were beginning to be thrown. Kitty was blown backwards in a scream, as a grenade landed feet in front of her. Warren caught her just before she hit the ground and dropped her lightly behind a tent.

"LOGAN, A LITTLE COVER, PLEASE?" Jean yelled, picking up a soldier as he attempted to shoot at her, throwing him over the trees. They were swarming now.

Then all at once, the jeeps, the tanks, and the helicopters flipped over where they sat or hovered, and then began rolling about randomly.

"MAGNETO!" Logan yelled.

The elder man came from behind the trees, and with a swift movement of his hand, brought a helicopter straight for them.

* * *

In a tent on the edge of the battle, where blood had been spattered along the outside, a body twitched. A tiny sweat began to form on a forehead. A grimace appeared on a face, and a moan escaped a pair of lips. 


	35. Oblivious

Part 34 - Oblivious

Blinking images.

A slideshow of blurry pictures.

Such a delayed reaction in between each blink that he was surprised things would even be in the same place when the next picture came.

After what felt like his millionth blink, he finally managed to keep his eyes open long enough to register something. It wasn't big, but at least it was something. And it was something that shocked him.

He wasn't under water.

The last thing he remembered, at least he thought he remembered, was a burning feeling in his chest, as it flooded with water, his brain registering a picture of his feet kicking violently, trying to swim somewhere where there was air. Then the white spots invading, and eventually, the familiar sight of black and red. He exhaustedly blinked again and stared upwards. Unable to hear or move, it was all he could do, until he did start to hear. A faint noise began to rise, like the tuning of a radio. Explosions, yells, and the calling of orders.

A sudden rush of pain shot through his body and if he could scream, he would have. A cold sweat was staring, beginning on his forehead and making its way slowly down his back.

He heard a noise, not outside like the others, but closer. Almost as though it were right next to him. He tried to turn his head, but all of his limbs, save his eyelids, were immobile. The noise came again, like a half moan, or a gasp, the rasping of some one trying to breathe, maybe. It progressed to incoherent speech, mostly a series of small breaths. Hardly enough to even be called any type of speech. He tried again to turn his head, and again failed.

"Sh…h…"

You could say he froze, but what movement had he been doing anyway? He was startled for the most part.

"Sh…ch…"

He blinked, trying not to accept the fact he was subconsciously being told he knew that breath, which seemed absurd. Who could recognize a breath?

_You do, apparently,_ a small voice teased.

"Jh…"

His curiosity was taking over. Who the hell was trying to speak?

"John…"

He felt a twinge, a small wave run through his body. What the twinge was, he wasn't sure. Whether it was physical pain, or something else. He didn't feel like figuring it out. Then as another twinge began, a flashback followed it.

Water — screaming — his legs kicking furiously as he tumbled head over heels uncontrollably…

He shuddered.

"John…!"

He cried out as a jolt of pain seared in his temple. As a reflex, his body shot up and he grabbed the sides of his head with both hands. He felt a bruise in the middle of one of his arms, but it was a small note as more pain built up in his head. Full feeling was rushing back to his body, and he was not appreciating it. Now he wished he was back to being fully numb. He was now shaky, and that unnatural sweat was still spreading. He could feel it now. He was in pain, yes, but he could handle it. He _was_ a mutant after all. He mentally shrugged it off.

His mouth was becoming a little scratchy, and his lips were dry. He throat felt swollen and dry, like a common cold. All of this began to trigger an intense migraine.

Since his hearing had reemerged, he was noticing the cried and gunshots more now. After looking around slowly, he saw he was in a tent, sitting atop a medical table. His clothes were damp, from the new sweat and from the water. How long had it been? Three days? Four? A week even?

A heavy breathing emitted from the other person as he pondered what had happened since the lake. Even so, what _had_ happened at the lake? He remembered a name. Alkali Lake.

Magneto had a base there. And then something about the X-Men. Yes, they had been there. There was a flood…and a helicopter…

"FIND THE GENERAL! RETREAT AND GET THE MUTANT SUBJECTS OUT!"

He turned his head as the voice ran closer to the tent. He heard a cry of fear, a familiar snarl of ferocity, and then the sickening sound of metal slicing into flesh. A body staggered into the flap of the tent and collapsed into the ground, three thick cuts running from its side to its other hip. A small pouch dropped from its hand and fell open, scattering a series of small medical tools.

It was a doctor, apparently trying to innocently come into the tent, and was savagely killed by association that it was the enemy.

He scanned the supplies absentmindedly and let his eyes fall upon a pair of thin needles. He squinted a bit inquisitively. It was like _deja vu_. It seemed as though he had seen them before, on more than one occasion. Before he could make any serious connection, another throbbing wave of pain surged through him. The broken breath beside him was still coming.

"I DON'T CARE! FIRE AT WILL, YOU IDIOTS!" some one shouted furiously.

Gunshots went off. Some tore through the canvas of the tent and he ducked between his knees, ignoring more waves of agony. Whatever was going on outside, he was involuntarily in the middle of it. As quickly as he could, which really wasn't quick at all, and that didn't go unpaid at the price of _more_ pain, he put his legs over the side of the table. But once he tried to stand up, a rush went to his head and an invasion of white spots came to his eyes. Suddenly, in a feeling of lightness, he fell face first into the ground, not feeling one bit of the impact.

* * *

_**"Kari…"**_

_Unnnggghh…_

_**"KARI..." **_

_Whaa…_

_**"You have to get up…"**_

_Why…_

"_**Please, get up, something's wrong."**_

_What…?_

_**"GET UP!"**_

In the span of a few seconds, along with spontaneous combinations of temple throbs and waves of twitching pain through her entire body, she opened her eyes slowly, fighting to keep her heavy eyelids apart. In another minute, the top of a tent came into view, a few holes ripped through the canvas.

"Something feels wrong…I can't…"

_What…?_

_**"The v…vi…v…"**_

…_Crevan?_

His voice faded like a nightmare and she slowly propped herself up on her elbows, as though she would look up and see him standing there, and she could give him one of her famous sardonic stares, but she only saw the air around her, noticing she was lying on a metal table, with another empty on to her right, and just at the foot of hers, she could see the fallen body of what looked like a military doctor. Noises around her were switching in an out like some one was fiddling with the tuning dial on her ears. Bits she heard were gunshots, yells of victory, yells of anger, and bloodcurdling screams.

_What is going —_

"STORM, BEHIND YOU!" some one yelled. There was a thud, more gunfire, and a man yelling.

"WATCH OUT!" another voice cried. The sound of a body hitting dirt, and something slid into the side of the tent.

Wait…she knew that voice! But it couldn't be…

"GET THE SUBJECTS TO THE HELICOPTER! _NOW!_" ordered a very disgruntled person.

Could it had really been…

She put her legs over the side of the table. She had to get up and see. There was no other option.

"Y-YES SIR!" a younger, more fearful voice answered to the last order.

_**"Out…get out…fast…"**_

_Crevan, what's going on! Crevan?_

_**"Move…"**_

Again he fell silent, leaving her exasperated and exhausted. To tired to begin an argument with some one who now was probably not going to answer, she gave in and tried to convince herself to trust him. He was right. They were in the middle of a fight they had no reason to be. And it was god knows _how_ intense.

She looked up just as some one else stumbled in with their back to her, firing a large gun with spontaneous shots. She raised her eyes in tired curiosity, to fatigued to be frightened. The body moved until it was halfway in the tent, then looked over its shoulder and stopped dead.

Literally.

It fell with gunshots penetrating his neck and chest. An accident from a fellow soldier, most likely. As he fell back onto the ground, there was a flash of blue, a small feeling of cold air, and through the flap of the tent she saw him. She knew it. It had been him.

Bobby…the blue eyed boy…the tall, sweet, blue eyed boy…the boy who had once been John's best friend.…the same Bobby…

The Bobby who had abandoned the jet in fear of losing another friend yet in spite of all he tried to sacrifice, he had still been forced to watch as both of his friends plunge into a freezing lake with no chance of survival. It was him, now fighting in a misunderstood situation, risking his life just because it was his duty. She had to wonder whether his heart was really in it. Yet as he stood in front of the tent, unaware that the two friends he believed were dead were now in fact alive for some unknown reason, infected with the Anti-X virus (which none of them knew), he fought because the only thing on his mind in reality, was vengeance. Against the humans or mutants themselves, he wanted revenge.

Exhausted, battered, and breathing heavily, tired, gorgeous blue eyes looking around in dismay as he searched for some one, the only one he thought he had left. It seemed like such a pitiful sight.

Yet to Kari, it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen with her own two eyes, and they were now beginning to well up with all the joy she never thought she had.

Bobby turned until his back was to her, then did another turn, looking left and right. The cries and screams were beginning to subside, and less clashing between bodies were heard. Gunshots ceased in faint flashes of red and angry growls. As Kari's friend gave a small glance at the tent, he took a step to run, then froze like his body had been frozen by his own power. His eyes widening, she stared back, unable to describe how much she loved him at that moment. As their eyes locked, another girl, a bit shorter than he, came by fast, in a sort of half run, and he grabbed her arm.

She stopped and he pulled her close by locking his hands around the sides of her arms. She looked to the side in confusion, then up at him.

"What?" she asked in a quiet confused tone. She noticed his oblivious stare and she turned her eyes to the tent.

The expressions that overtook Kitty and Bobby were completely inexplicable. When he tried to take a breath, it stopped in his throat and he felt a large pressure in his chest as his heart pounded against Kitty's back. His hands slid limply down her arms and fell at his sides. Both of them looked close to fainting and Kari had never felt so happy in her entire life. The other two's mouths were starting to drop, and the small glistening of the birth of tears could be seen in their eyes. All Kari wanted to do more than anything was rise from that table, and run to them, and they wished to do the same.

Within these twelve seconds of shock, was a small noise in Kari's head. A low groan, that grew into gasping moans. As it continued, a sharp pain traveled from her temples, over the top of her head, and crept down to her shoulder blades. The moans soon turned into a long drawn out painful whine that progressed into a terrifying scream. Though it began as Crevan's, it finally became Kari's.

Then all at once, something happened that not even the most advanced mutant expert could explain.

Small waves of silvery white emitted from her body and hovered around her like a thin disk of smoke. Then, they shot out with amazing speed, like lightning. It shook everything from the table she sat upon, to the trees by the mountains.

"KARI!" Bobby yelled. It was even too fast for Kitty to react and phase Bobby through the waves. Everything roughly in a mile radius shook, was thrown backwards, and knocked out. Invisible waves were left to shimmer in the air, and then all was silent. Everything was quiet, or unconscious.

Unless they were to unconscious begin with.

* * *

Hours later John awoke to Kari toppled onto the ground beside him. He rolled onto his side and took his time getting to his feet. He was dizzy. He held his head in fatigue and his first thought was automatically to find Magneto. That didn't seem right at first, but then it grew and he decided to just listen to it. He knew where the "new" base was, the man had spoken about it several times. He could walk there. It shouldn't be too far. But now the problem was: where was he _now_? If he didn't know that he couldn't calculate the distance to the base.

The noises of battle were now gone, none heard outside whatsoever. That seemed odd, but then again, how long had he been out? Anyway, it seemed to be the perfect time to get out of there, but he wasn't exactly in a fit state to leave. What choice did he have, though? He started for the door of the tent…wait.

She was still there. Should he leave her? Yes. Why not? She was useless.

…or not.

Magneto could need her. He hadn't used her yet. She'd been the only one he had missed. The last of the X-Men he needed to copy.

And if John brought her to him, what praise he would get! Magneto might even consider letting him be leader of the Brotherhood one day.

_Wow._

That thought gave him many ideas. All the things Magneto would say! How amazed would he be to see that John had survived falling into a frigid lake in an attempt to save _him._ And not only that, but had brought him the last thing he needed to complete his plan! Finally finish the list of the X-Men!

When all of these possibilities crossed his mind, he formed a smile. It was settled. He had to take her. If it was to his benefit, and it held endless rewards, heck, it was worth it. Besides, God only knows what might happen to her if she was left here. She would die before they could come back to find her. He couldn't let that happen…nope. Straight to Magneto it was.

But how? She was out cold and he certainly wasn't strong enough at the moment to carry her.

_No pun intended,_ he thought lazily.

Then,_ Oh, screw that._

Him? Not strong enough? Yeah right. She was hardly a burden. 130 pounds at the most?

_Gimme a break._

He looked down at her and sighed in a quiet complaint. Trying to keep Magneto as his motive, he positioned her and hoisted her on his back. He held her legs and leaned forward to balance the weight. He took a step and froze as something brushed against his chest. He held his breath and glanced down. It was only her hand, limply wrapped around his neck. Her fingers brushed against his shirt again as he moved and he halted again.

Had she woken up? No, she was still unconscious. He was just paranoid. Paranoid that she would wake before he could get her to the Brotherhood. It was fine, he just needed to stay calm.

_Yeah RIGHT,_ he argued to himself.

He took a deep breath and tried to focus on his motive. As he felt Kari's hand lightly continue to touch the middle of his chest, he tried to ignore it. He kept walking, too oblivious to the fact that he had just stepped over his former best friend.


	36. Sudden Hate

Part 35 – Sudden Hate

"NO! NO NO NO! GOD, PLEASE, NO!"

Kitty jerked her head and opened her eyes.

"PLEASE, NOOO!"

Bobby was screaming. She rolled onto her side and stood up. She heard a crash of metal and jumped. He had pushed one of the tables inside the tent over. He was kicking anything he could find. It took Kitty a moment to remember where she was and all that happened. She felt a small jerk of disappointment in her stomach and she watched him.

"Bobby —"

He yelled and kicked the fallen table. His hair was sticking to his forehead from sweat and his eyes were burning with anger. He must have been doing this for a while. But his eyes weren't just angry, they were sad. Lacking the hope the once held.

"GOD DAMN IT!"

Kitty felt Bobby's emotions copy into herself and sink nauseatingly into her stomach. She swallowed, trying not to let it take over.

"Bobby —" she tried again.

"_FUCK_!" he yelled ferociously, slamming his foot into the table as hard as he could. A huge dent was the cause, and he fell onto his knees and all at once burst into tears.

"WHY! WHY THE HELL DID WE HAVE TO LOSE HER AGAIN! GOD _DAMN_ IT! WHAT THE HELL DID WE DO TO DESERVE THIS!" He yelled and punched the table so hard his knuckles turned red and began to bleed.

"Bobby!" Kitty snapped. He looked up, startled that she was awake. She finally noticed that he didn't know she had risen, too distracted by his anger. The table he had finished assaulting was the one Kari had previously been sitting on.

"Get a grip, Bobby, what's the matter with you?"

Logan came up to them pulling on his gloves, which were slightly battered and bloody. Bobby looked up in an irate glare and Kitty turned to Logan.

"Nothing. We're fine. Is everyone else okay?" she asked, trying to switch the subject.

"Yeah, they're getting themselves up. Either of you know what the hell happened?" he asked, eyeing Bobby curiously.

"No. But we should find Magneto before anything else happens." Bobby managed to say, trying to keep his voice calm and somehow formal.

"All right. Come one, we're heading back to the jet to check the coordinates."

As Wolverine walked away, Kitty turned to Bobby, who shakily got to his feet.

"Are you all right?" Kitty asked quietly, grabbing his arm comfortingly. He nodded his head, taking off his glove to wipe his face of his tears. He nodded again and replaced the glove taking in a deep breath.

"We can't tell them," he whispered.

"I know," Kitty nodded.

They were silent as they watched their comrades get to their feet and say a few words before looking around curiously.

"What do we do?" Kitty asked, looking up at him, trying to hide her new lack of hope.

"Act like it never happened," he replied, not sounding as calm as he was attempting to be.

"Bobby," Kitty said in a normal voice so he jumped.

"I know, I know. But if we tell them, they'll think we were seeing things, or it was just a clone, and that we're too hung up on the fact she's 'dead' to focus on the mission."

"What if it was a clone?" Kitty questioned, realizing it was a possibility.

"It wasn't," he stated flatly.

"How can you tell? A clone looks _exactly_ like the original."

"She was still in her uniform, and her arm was still bleeding!"

"Magneto could have copied the uniform, and purposefully stabbed her arm! He's _playing_ with us!"

"Fine, go ahead and doubt, I'm not giving up on her."

"She's DEAD, Bobby."

He had been halfway through walking away when she said this. She felt a disgusting sinking feeling in her stomach again. She had never wanted to say those words, but she knew in her heart they were true. She swallowed the biter taste in her mouth and Bobby turned to look over his shoulder.

"I expected everyone to give up Kitty, but I never thought one of them would be you." He shook his head lightly and walked away, leaving her standing there more hurt than she had been in years. Maybe he was right. Maybe she was giving up too soon. But it didn't seem logical. Kari _had_ to be dead. No one could survive a fall like that.

No one.

* * *

"Can't…believe…I'm even…DOING this…I mean, how stupid do I have to be to carry some stupid girl all the way to a base, which is God knows HOW far away right now, I'm about to pass out, and I hardly have a reason for it! Well, beside the fact he sort of needs her and I'm sure if I came back empty handed he'd be a bit pissed off…so I guess I'm doing myself a favor…Oh well, one good deed deserves another, I guess."

Mumbling became a habit of John's as he trudged through the trees in search of Magneto's base. Whether it was a nervous or subconscious habit was unknown, it just began and now he was unable to stop.

"How the hell am I supposed to find this place, anyway?" he grumbled. He glanced up in a bored manner, and then stopped. "Oh, DUH."

How could he have been as stupid as to not use the sun as a compass? He felt ridiculous now. It was about five o'clock maybe, and the sun was lazily sinking in the west.

"Sun's west…and from Alkali Lake it was about four miles northwest…so I need to go…THIS WAY." He turned around and sighed in a deep breath. At least he wasn't lost. And Kari had still not awoken, which was also good. She was still completely limp, leaning forward on his back, her hand still brushing against his chest lightly in spontaneous steps. He had tried to ignore this the entire time he walked, and was half succeeding. He chest now became numb from trying to ignore it.

He stepped over a large log and heard a low rumbling noise. He stopped and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"What the hell…" The rumbling grew louder and he saw a black line between the trees. It rose over the top and came towards him. The rumbling grew into a high-pitched laser-like noise of an engine and it came closer, increasing in speed.

"OH SHIT!" he yelled as it shot at him. He flung Kari towards a tree and jumped over her, shielding her from whatever it was. As it drew away, and the trees continued rustling from the burst of air, he saw it was a jet. A normal fighter-jet, an F-18, actually. Still covering the girl under him, he craned his neck, confused, and tried to watch where it was going. It circled around and came back towards him in another deafening roar, rustling the top of the trees again. It was then he noticed it was heading back to the military camp. No doubt no one had sent a signal or report for hours, and a jet was sent as a default to make sure things were okay.

But they weren't, and if that aircraft landed and saw what had happened, that would mean more backup. More backup meant a search party, and a search party meant trouble for him.

He estimated all of this in his head. He was at least still three miles from Magneto's base. And with Kari weighing him down, it could take him a little over three and a half hours. In an estimate of how soon the jet would discover the catastrophe, and how soon they would call for reinforcements, that gave him less than three hours. He needed to hide. Somewhere they wouldn't look. But where the hell would he hide? No choice but to start looking.

He glanced down and noticed Kari was still unconscious under him. He stood up cautiously, scanning around, then picked her up again and rested her on his back. Then he was hit with something else.

The military already knew where Magneto's base was. If he headed there, they'd find him.

_Fuck._

He stopped in mid step and looked around. He sighed. NOW what? He couldn't go to the base. He couldn't head back. The lake was too far. He was trapped. So North, West, and South were cut off. He had east. But that didn't lead anywhere.

_But if I head east and stay low, once the military's gone, I can head back to the base. I only need to hide long enough for them to see no one's here, then break for it._

It seemed easy enough. He looked at the sun, turned and headed east.

* * *

"Storm, we have another jet," Jean reported in a worried tone.

"Lie low, get over that hill and they won't spot us." Storm pointed and Jean lifted the jet quickly. They hovered a bit over a hill and landed on the other side.

"So what do we do now?" Warren asked. "The military's bound to swarm in, they'll find Magneto, he'll release the clones —"

"— then we're dead," Logan finished with a shrug.

"We find the exact coordinates to Magneto's base, and we get there before they do," Jean answered simply.

"Yeah, that's all well and good BUT: did you forget about the CLONES?" Kitty snapped.

"What about them?" Logan stated.

"Only the fact that they're exact copies! They have all of our abilities, and no doubt our same intelligence!"

"Then _you_ have nothing to worry about," Bobby mumbled. Kurt stifled a half second snicker and Kitty gave him a glare.

"Knock it off, Iceman, we have to be serious. I know it's hard because you guys are still kids, but that doesn't give you any permission —"

"I'm not a kid anymore Logan, STOP SAYING THAT!" Bobby snapped back.

"You are too, you're only sixteen, so knock it off!"

"DON'T NEGLECT MY ABILITIES JUST BECAUSE OF MY AGE! SPEAK FOR YOURSELF, YOU SELFISH BASTARD!"

"What did you call me!" Logan snarled, dragging Bobby out of his seat by the collar of his uniform.

"HEY!" Jean shouted, pushing them away from each other with a wave of her hand. Kurt and Warren stood in between them to keep them separated.

"That was uncalled for, both of you. Cut it out. The last thing we need is a quarrel in the team," Storm ordered sternly.

"I'm not the one with cold feet," Logan growled.

"Tell that to your oversized ego," Bobby shot back.

"Bobby!" Kitty argued. He gave her a glare and she mouthed "Cut it out!" as Logan kept his fists clenched.

"No one here's perfect, all right? We each have our own personal problems, but we are NOT letting that get between us!" Storm interrupted, "One more insult out of either of your mouths and your back at the mansion — I don't care HOW old you are," she added with a point of an angry finger as Logan opened his mouth to protest.

"Back to the POINT," Kitty began, "We need some type of strategy. If these clones are as high tech as I think they are, they can match every ability we have, offensive and defensive alike. They have our mutant ability, they _are us._ There's no way we can just fight them off if they can copy our techniques."

"She's got a point. We need a plan, we cannot just barge in there and expect a warm welcome," Kurt agreed.

"What if we didn't fight our own clones?" Scott suggested, "If they _aren't_ us, then they _can't_ copy our movements."

"But could you really bring it upon yourself to fight one of your own team?" Jean pointed out.

"Well, if they're clones, they're not actually our team."

"But what if you had to fight a copy of me? Could you do it?"

Scott made no reply.

"Besides, if we fought a clone that wasn't a copy of ourselves, then how could we know we're fighting a clone? We could attack the original by accident." Kurt looked at Storm and she nodded at this.

"So, it's settled. We have to fight our own copies."

"What's settled? We don't even have a PLAN," Kitty reminded them.

"There's no time to come up with one. When you reach the fight, come up with your own strategy. You alone will know your own weakness."

Everyone was silent as they either looked at each other or the floor in solemn nods of understanding.

"We go in, end of story," Jean stood up and lowered the ramp to exit the jet. "And Logan, if you insist on not fighting yourself, fight Bobby's."

"Would be a damn shame if I hit the real one, then," Logan growled as he walked past the sixteen-year-old. Bobby gave him a glare and Kitty walked past him without acknowledgment. This hurt him more than anything.

Now, he felt as though all of his friends were dead.

Kitty just felt subconsciously triumphant as she did this. Like she was winning the silent battle. But she also felt hurt, at the fact Bobby thought she had given up. Just because she thought Kari was dead? He made it sort of a vague accusation. She felt he meant she had given up on everyone. Including him.

Considering he was all she had left, she was angry with this. If he wanted to think that, fine. Let him. But it wasn't true. She stopped herself from turning around to talk to him. Let him wallow. Who gives a shit.

"Lay low, guys, we got a lot of military activity coming our way," Storm warned as everyone gathered. There was no eye contact. There were no other voices. Just solemn steps.


	37. Broken

Part 36 – Broken

It was nearly seven o'clock when John decided he needed to stop. His legs were throbbing, his back ached, and his throat was becoming dryer by the minute. Every time he swallowed it stung like mad. And even in the cold air, he was sweating. He swallowed one last time before lowering himself onto his knees and dropping Kari onto the ground. An uneasy feeling came over him. His vision blurred for a moment and he shook his head, blinking several times. He wiped his forehead on the sleeve of his jacket and took in a steady breath, calming himself. He looked over his shoulder. Kari was lying on her side with her mouth half open. Her breath was slightly ragged.

"Please let there be water around here," he begged to himself, getting to his feet slowly as to not dizzy himself. No water, just patches of snow. He had no source of fire. If he had his damned lighter with him…he cursed under his breath. Well, what else to do?

He grabbed a small handful of snow, just a small ball in his palm and shoved it in his mouth. It melted slowly, but felt nice and cool on his throat. He sighed and swallowed the rest after a minute, earning a small aftertaste of dirt. He swallowed again and looked at the ground. It was slightly damp. He was getting unusually warm, so he decided to take off his jacket. His thin long sleeved shirt kept him the same temperature. He found this odd, but shrugged it off and tossed his jacket onto the ground, sitting on top of it.

The sun was just finishing setting over the trees. It was dark, until finally all light disappeared and all he could see were the faint outlines of every object, including Kari's body, still lying in the damp soil, still unconscious. He felt a tremble in his stomach, and then a low growl. It was the first time he noticed he was hungry.

No kidding, he hadn't eaten in how long? He rested his arms on top of his knees, giving another dreaded sigh. After all the things he had survived, he was going to be taken out by starvation. Lovely.

He snapped his head at the girl when she made a small groan.

* * *

The first thing Kari noticed was cold against her face. Slightly grainy, meaning soil. NOW where was she? 

When she opened her eyes she didn't see anything but the ground and her arm. Her body was still in pain, but she felt fine enough to raise her head. She saw outlines of trees, and some one sitting on the ground. She couldn't make out the face, but she had a guess of who it was. Skepticism and anger came to her, and when she was about to make a comment, a sharp pain emitted from her shoulder blade. She winced and cried out for a second, making the figure jump.

She heard a small crunching noise in her body that gave her mouth a bitter taste as though she would puke. The noise came again and her shoulder blades began burning like she was laying in a fire. Then a feeling of pressure, and then the burning again.

"AGH!" she groaned, grinding her teeth. She felt the middle of her stomach twist and burn and she curled into a ball as her shoulder blades started to throb. Then a shockwave of pain through her limbs, and slowly the pain subsided. She opened her eyes in a small grimace, and then began breathing again. Her surprise through all of this was Crevan made no response, no comments or anything.

The only pain she had now was the familiar bruising pain in her shoulder. She remembered that now. Getting hit by Spyke's attack, which left her with a torn wound then went clear through the other side of her shoulder. She managed to roll her body upright until she was sitting up clutching her shoulder. Whether it was bleeding or not was undetermined, and would be pretty hard to considering her clothes were slightly damp from sweat. She rubbed her face in fatigue and out of habit, took her tangled hair out of its ponytail with difficulty. She slid it around her wrist and ran her fingers very slowly through her hair, attempting to comb it out to make it easier to manage. After giving up in two minutes and putting in back up with the hair tie, she dropped her hands and stared at the figure.

Glowing eyes met glowing eyes, both pairs unable to see the others face, but both knew who the other was, and neither of them wanted to speak.

Though Kari had so many questions inside, she didn't want to say any of them, because she knew she wouldn't like any of the answers he gave her.

John had so many pissed off comments he wanted to shoot off in every direction he could, but he knew he would get some sophisticated response he didn't want to hear either.

But she did have one question she wanted an answer to, whether she liked it or not, and that was —

"Why'd you bring me here?"

"How do you know I was the one that brought you?" he answered in a heartbeat.

"Who else would? Everyone else obviously thinks I'm dead."

"Are you?" he asked, trying to sound sarcastically hopeful.

"If I was you'd be right there with me," Kari shot back.

"Well, hell's lovely then, isn't it?"

Using whatever sight abilities she had, and any strength she somehow managed to recover, she leapt at him and grabbed the collar of his shirt, dragging him to his feet and slamming him into the nearest tree.

"You've got some nerve talking to me like that after what you did," she growled, her fists clenched on his shirt as tight as they would go.

"Me? Speak for yourself! You've killed me TWICE!"

"If I killed you, you'd be dead, a position I could easily remedy."

"Back off," he threatened, pushing hard on her shoulders, making her release him and stumble back a step.

"What exactly were you planning to do with me? Toss me in the river and hope I drown while I'm unconscious?"

"That's actually not a bad idea," John muttered thoughtfully, not at all sarcastic. But he wanted to stick with his original plan, and if he blew it now, he was screwed.

"Forgive me for having some sympathy. If I left you in that tent, once more military showed up they would have either killed you or shipped you off to some lab to do tests like they do on animals. They'd treat you like a serial killer, put you in one of those high security prisons, and constantly question you about where Magneto is." He surprised himself at how fast he was able to concoct this lie.

"Funny, they would have had the wrong mutant," she retorted with narrowed eyes, though he could hardly see. She was quickly getting a headache, but wasn't backing down so easily.

"Ha ha," he sneered, "Whatever. Just take your ungrateful little attitude and point it back at yourself, all right? I'm not the one jumped at the chance to kill herself. Quite literally," he added.

"Oh _really_? You _weren't_ the one who leapt out of a flying helicopter?"

"I'm not the one who jumped AT the helicopter. And I was protecting my leader, and you KNOW that!"

"It was a stupid, pointless choice, and you know THAT!" she shouted angrily.

They both fell silent, and Kari knew that truth was slowly sinking into John, unwanted.

"You wouldn't know anything about loyalty," he argued, his fists clenching in frustration. "All you care about is your STUPID SELF!"

"Oh, I'M selfish? Whatever happened to 'It's All About John'? Whatever happened to you being the center of attention all the time? What happened to showing off! WHAT HAPPENED TO _YOU_!"

She shouted the last part with such anger that John, for the first time in his life, was left completely speechless. He had no sarcastic comebacks. No joking comments. He didn't even have an honest answer.

Not even for her.

"You know, some days I hoped that you would change. One day, I hoped that you would for once think about some one other than yourself. I wanted you to change. But I never hoped you would change into this."

"Into what?" he said in a normal tone after a minute's pause.

Kari pulled something from her pocket that she only remembered was there a moment ago. A small silver lighter. In the dim moonlight, it shone, and she tossed it at him. He jumped and caught it in surprise.

"You used to be so predictable, and for the first time you did something I never imagined you would. Now I'm going to do something for a change."

John stared, still holding his lighter in surprise and confusion.

"I'm giving up on you."

She turned and disappeared from sight. He still stood there, utterly speechless, and wondering what the hell he had done, to make her finally give up.

* * *

Kari had no idea where she was going to go, and chances were, she would get found by the military and they'd kill her. She didn't care; she just wanted to get away from John. He didn't know. He would _never_ know how hard she had tried to find him, how much she cared, enough to give her own _life_. He would never understand. 

He was so ungrateful! So selfish! He was such a BASTARD! She wanted to punch his face in, she was so mad. But at the same time, she didn't want to look at him. She didn't even want to be near him. So now her only choice was to keep walking and hope she could find a way back home.

She felt that burning between her shoulder blades again, but she tried to ignore it. If she stopped now, she probably wouldn't be able to get back up. Her legs were already searing in agony. She was gritting her teeth, trying not to focus on the pain, and focus on how far away she was getting from John.

He was still standing where she left him, staring at his lighter in shock. Had she really just said that? And did she really mean it? Then a completely pointless question came to his head.

Why did she have his lighter?

_She's getting away man, if she leaves, how are you going to get her to Magneto?_

There was a good point. Maybe he could just make up one little lie, make her THINK he cared, and pretend to be leading her to safety.

_That's perfect. It just might work. Besides, she can't stay out here all alone, she'd die. THEN what use would she be? She has to be alive for Magneto to extract her DNA._

He took in a deep breath and quickly made up an excuse in his head, then headed after her in the dark, snatching up his jacket. She couldn't have gotten far. And he was right.

* * *

When he found her she was face down on the ground, breathing harshly, her fingers digging at the soil, and groaning. She cried out suddenly and rolled onto her side, her arm reaching over her shoulder, trying to claw at something. He pocketed his lighter quickly. 

"Kari?"

"AGGHH!" she yelled suddenly, trying to claw at her back again.

"What's wrong?" he asked quickly.

Her feet started kicking out and she screamed again.

"Okay, sight would be good, let's hope this works." He pulled out his lighter, begging for it to still work. Amazingly, it did. He kicked a bunch of damp leaves and twigs into a messy pile, picked up the flame in his hand and set it on top of the pile. It took a while to start, but when it did, he turned back to Kari, who was clawing at her shoulder again.

"You have to tell me what's wrong," he urged, running to grab bigger pieces of wood. He kept his eyes on her every second he did this. He grabbed some fallen branches and set them on top of the dying leaves. With a quick motion of his hand he made the fire brighter and hotter, enough to warm them. It provided quite a bit of light and he knelt down in front of her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Kari grumbled, giving him a glare as she opened her eyes. Her forehead was covered in sweat.

"If you die, how the hell am I supposed to get you to the Brotherhood?" was what he wanted his response to be, but he held it back.

"I can't leave you here by yourself, you'll die, now tell me what the hell's wrong!"

"Get away from me," she snapped, pushing herself into a sitting position with much difficulty.

"Now who's the stubborn one?" he commented.

"BACK OFF, I DON'T NEED HELP FROM A PERSON WHO CAN'T EVEN BE GRATEFUL FOR WHAT HE HAS."

"Lighten up, just come over here, turn around."

"Why?"

"Would you rather die out here than have help?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?" she shot back, not ceasing her glare.

"Why did you have my lighter?" he asked, interrupting her with a loud tone.

She was taken aback by the question, and felt he didn't deserve the true answer.

"Why do you care, you got it back. You have your stupid lighter, you have your ego, and you don't have any of us left. What else do you want?"

"I want you to turn around so I can help you!" he answered sternly.

Angry that she might have been wrong about him, and her curiosity getting the better of her about why her back was hurting, she turned her back towards the fire and he looked at it. No bleeding, except from Spyke's wound.

"What was hurting you?"

"My shoulder blades. They keep burning, and I don't know why." Her voice sounded like that of a defiant child.

"Well, you aren't bleeding," he reassured. He pressed his hand against the back of her neck and moved it down to her left shoulder. She felt goose bumps run down the sides of her arms.

"Does that hurt?"

"No," she said quietly. She was becoming slightly irritated. "Why did you really come after me?" she asked

"I already told you, if you were out here by yourself, you'd get killed."

"So you were worried about me?" Sarcastic yet inquisitive.

"I didn't say that," he snapped.

_No! Say you did, you moron,_ his brain yelled.

"Okay, fine, yes I was," he grumbled, pressing his hand on the back of her other shoulder.

"Well, don't think that means I'm not mad at you still."

"Your choice," he said with a silent shrug. He pressed right between her shoulder blades and she arched her back quickly, jerking forward.

"Sorry."

"Ow."

He sat there for a minute while she tried to relax. She scratched the side of her head, which he took as a nervous gesture. He ran his hand across the top of the fire and it grew a bit brighter as she slouched over, and then finally calmed.

"Okay, I'm going to see if it's bruised," he said. He grabbed the bottom of her shirt and her body locked up. He saw her freeze and looked up with raised eyebrows.

"What?"

"Nothing," she said quietly. She was getting nervous, but she felt that if she denied him she would be losing some silent battle, or be revealing something she didn't want to. Besides, she wasn't exactly in the position to protest. He stopped for a moment, and then slowly lifted up the back of her shirt.

The bottom of her back seemed uninjured, save a few bruises no doubt from fighting whoever, whenever. But she wasn't complaining about those. He hesitated for a moment as he lifted it higher and went past the back of her bra. He watched her shiver as the cold air went across her skin. He held the shirt up with his left hand and ran his fingers over her shoulder blades, staring in silence.

Right in between them were two jagged lines, like scars, which he suspected they were. They were outlined with red marks, like they had been scratched by an angry animal. The scars were about as long as his middle finger, and not very thick. He ran his fingers over them and she twitched.

"How long have you had these?" he asked.

"Had what?"

"These scars."

Kari raised an eyebrow. She looked over her shoulder and he looked up.

"What scars?"

It was his turn to raise his eyebrows. "You don't know where they came from?"

"I don't have any scars on my back," she said in an assuring tone.

He narrowed his eyes curiously and ran his fingers lightly over her back again, staring at them.

"Give me your hand," he said. She skeptically put her hand over her shoulder and he grabbed it, leading her gently to the two marks. She felt them, and stared ahead in total confusion.

"Feel that?"

"Yeah…" she answered quietly, half referring to the scars.

Just as she finished, she felt a burning sensation churning around the back of her neck. She jerked her hand away and grabbed at it. He pulled his hand back and froze, confused, his fingers still half outstretched at her back. She gasped for a moment and then felt the burning spread back down to her shoulder blades just like before. Then what met John's eyes, he realized soon was making him terrified and nauseated.

He saw a small bump, no bigger than the tip of his thumb, as though it were swimming, move across her back, over her left shoulder blade. Then it disappeared, only to come back, swimming this time over the other, becoming the small form of what looked like a tiny snake. Then it grew and grew, until it began to cover her entire upper back. The scars he had been touching moments before started snaking their way into larger marks, both longer and wider. Kari's hand was still on her neck, nails digging harshly into her skin.

"Kari —"

She made a small noise, like a yelp and her nails grew into claws. She started grabbing at the top of her back like an angry cat, unaware she was causing bleeding damage. She got her hands under the fabric of the shirt and started clawing furiously.

"Kari, stop!" John warned, grabbing her wrist to prevent her from continuing. Right as he did so, Kari grabbed his own wrist with her other hand, flung him over her head and threw him across the ground. In seconds she had leapt up with gleaming red eyes and jumped on top of him, pinning him to the ground. Her hands squeezed as hard as they could, pinning his wrists above his head, sinking the tips of her claws into the top layer of his skin. He squinted his eyes shut from the pain and she bared her fangs at him like a rabid dog. Her legs straddling his hips, he was incapable of any defensive movement. For once, he had to trust she didn't really intend to hurt him.

Then, she felt the most painful throb yet to come, it sent a shockwave through her back and around to her chest. She rolled off of him, arching her back in an unearthly howl of agony. John opened his eyes at the noise, unaware she had released him. He felt his own warm blood dripping down his arms as he propped himself up quickly on his elbows, looking over at her all in one motion. She flipped onto her stomach and arched her back like a werewolf during a full moon. She whined and howled, clawing at her back in furious slashes, still unaware that she was ripping at her own flesh.

Out of some unknown reflex, John tried to grab her hands again, only to be kicked aside in anger as she toppled over, still growling and hissing like some alien-like breed of tortured canine.

This time he went determined, jumping on top of her as they rolled at least three times, each trying to become the dominant one, like a fight for leadership in a pack of wolves. Finally John got her wrists in his grasp, and by managing to hold them both together with one hand, he used to other to hold down her chest as she tried to arch her back again. He planted his knees at either of her sides and grabbed her arms now with both of his hands.

Then, her eyes simply were drained of the harsh red inky color and returned back to their normal, confused green. Her harsh breathing ceased and she looked up at him in surprise.

"Are you all right?" he asked, letting his own heart calm from it's pounding beat.

"Yeah…I…I think I'm…okay…"

He gave her one last concerned glance before slowly lightening his grip on her arms.

"Why do you care anyway?" she snapped unnecessarily, childishly half pushing him out of the way.

"Forgive me _for_ caring at all," he answered. Yet, of course, in all honesty, it was just an image. The only real reason he wanted to stop her was, of course, if she injured herself lethally, she was of no use to Magneto, and that meant _he_ was no use to him as well. At least he had kept her from as much clawing as he could. As long as she was alive.

The problem with this was Kari was beginning to think he really wanted to help. She was totally falling for it.

"_Are_ you okay?" he asked again.

"I'm FINE," she snapped, turning away from him. The back of her shirt certainly said different. Blood was soaking through in lines, a pattern from the scratches.

"No you're not. Come here." He motioned for her and she turned away.

"Just leave me alone, all right?"

"It's not like I'm DISEASED," **(Author: Oh the pun.)** he argued, frustrated, "will you just come here? Your cuts could get infected."

"Then let them. Better than being touched by you." She began walking away when he narrowed his eyes to be straightforward.

"If you keep going you'll freeze to death, not to mention the people looking for us. Add all that up with infected injuries and you might as well start playing your golden harp now."

"I'd whack you over the head with it first if I did. BYE."

"You never trusted me before. Is there any possibility you could _start_?"

"NO," she said in a loud, firm voice.

He was stuck. There was no way to stop her from leaving. Except…

"All right, fine. Kill yourself. I'm sure it would be a fine confirmation for Bobby and Kitty."

She halted slowly. She stared at the dark ground, then looked ahead of her with glaring eyes.

"Don't you even THINK," she said angrily, her clenched fists shaking as she looked at him over her shoulder, "of mentioning their names to me, you bastard. You abandoned us. They _did_ trust you, and you left us for some dumb ass geezer in a cape. So don't you DARE talk about them, EVER! YOU GOT IT?" She was unable to keep her voice from rising in the end. And when it approached, she was flat out screaming in his face, fighting back furious tears and ignoring the fact her claws had just extracted into the middle of her palm, and trickles of blood were running down her fingertips.

"Don't you talk to me like that, you KNOW that they hardly cared about you! Once you came along, they IGNORED me! You made me look like a jerk, and they hated me! Why the hell do you think I left? THEY WERE MY FRIENDS TOO!" he bellowed, unaware that the fire had just flashed to ten feet and then back down to four.

"BULLSHIT!"

There was practically a field of energy around them both, flowing with irate intenseness.

"The only reason you left is because you were selfish. Don't give me any crap about you being alone. They cared about you more than anyone at the school! Even Xavier! They were your best friends! I _never_ got in between that, so if you think I'm falling for your bullshit excuse, try again, buster, because I can tell right now that you're a conceited, selfish, flat out lying bastard."

"Speak for yourself," John spat.

"The only thing I ever lied about was denying the fact I _did_ trust you. You were so blind, you were so…ABSORBED IN YOUR OWN GOD DAMN SELF THAT YOU NEVER EVEN SAW ME! YOU DIDN'T CARE ANYTHING ABOUT US! IF ALL OF YOUR LIES AND STUPID SARCASTIC COMEBACKS WERE ONLY GOING TO LEAD TO MY BROKEN HEART, _I COULD HAVE DEALT WITHOUT IT_!"

And for the first time, being in her own conscious mind without the assistance of any mutant power, she let her fist fly and collide with the side of his head, watching droplets of blood fly from his mouth. He stood there shocked, wide-eyed, and in all, defeated. He felt a bruising throb through his face and felt more blood drip from the corner of his mouth. Kari's fist was still in the air where it stopped, and she stared at it with half of his shock, her hand shaking with physical and emotional pain.

John sucked in a hard earned breath, and slowly reached his hand up to his cheek, his jaw aching. He slowly raised his eyes up at her, and saw she was crying. Tears running freely down her face, her eyes narrowed angrily, and he could tell she had fought to keep them inside, but her face still showed wide-eyed shock from what she had just done. She closed her mouth slowly and swallowed, feeling a knot growing in her throat.

"You've killed me, Allerdyce. Don't ever think otherwise."

Saying this with choking words, she lowered her fist, and walked away.


	38. Final Stage

Part 37 – Final Stage

Whenever some one says to let out your anger, normally it leaves you feeling refreshed somehow. Once it's all gone you can relax, now that you've beaten down a door out of rage or something. Now, to Kari, John was that door, and it wasn't beaten enough.

She had hit him for the first time on her own. She was feeling a bit guilty, but that feeling was now being drowned out by more anger. People, who you might say have anger problems, like to hit or throw things when they're mad. Or like the raging bull who ran through the china shop. That was her right now. If she were in that china shop, she would smash everything to bits, and then move to the next one. Her fist was throbbing from her punch, because unlike when she used her mutant powers, when she was much stronger and could endure more pain, she had done this completely as a human, and her hand was stinging like some one had shut it in a car door.

Her fingers were still clenched into tight balls, and were now going numb, and she could feel the blood pounding in her head, the birthing of a gigantic migraine. Maybe she could find a cliff somewhere to just throw herself off of.

_I'm sure John would love that,_ she growled in her head. When she didn't get a sarcastic reply from Crevan, she got a little sad. She had sort of grown attached to him, as much as she didn't want to admit it. She was concerned from his lack of dialogue since she had awoken from the lake. She wondered what had happened to him, and wished she could know at that moment before that also made her angry.

Somehow, feeling like it was needed, she pounded the side of her head repeatedly with her fist. With one last smack, she stopped. She dropped her hand at her side, wincing as it fell limp because the injury on her shoulder throbbed.

He would never understand. NEVER. If all of what she had been through meant nothing, then what was the point of continuing it?

A loud rumbled was heard overhead and she looked up past a few trees. A flash of lightning went across the sky over a hill, threading its way until it disappeared.

"Fucking pathetic fallacies," she grumbled irritably. It began to sprinkle lightly and once they became what she labeled "real raindrops" she gritted her teeth in annoyance. She felt on drip into her eye and she let loose. She flailed angrily, in hopeless fury at the falling water drops around her, not knowing what the hell she was doing it for, or what she was trying to hit. She just wanted to hit something. She almost tripped over a tree root, and kicked it irately, earning a throbbing pain in her foot. She yelled out in anger and threw her fist into the rough bark.

She stared with half wide eyes at her fist, dripping blood from the impact. Her eyes narrowed to a sad stare and the rain started fighting back, pouring down, dripping from her shirt into her pants, soaking her through and through. It wasn't long until her boots began to soak as well, and the soil turned to mud around her. It was the first time then she noticed the cold. It became so frigid she felt rough goose bumps all over her body as she began to shake. She pulled her hand from the tree and looked at her torn knuckles, watching the rain wash the blood from it. She shook not only with cold, but now with growing anger again.

Staring at the hand she knew had caused so much damage to everyone. Whoever she had punched, whoever she had grabbed by the throat, whoever she had touched with that hand had been hurt. Bobby. Kitty. Rogue. Xavier.

John.

The thought of his name pissed her off so much she clenched her teeth as hard as she could, feeling the tension as her ears rang from the pressure until they started throbbing. She hit the tree again. Then with her other fist. Again and again, refusing to stop. She punched the bark so many times with her knuckles that she became lost in her fury and she started banging on it with the sides of her fists, until she realized she had fallen to her knees and was pathetically beating on it as she cried. She had screamed and screamed, and now her voice was gone, and all she could do was whimper. She kept smacking it lightly, until her hand fell on it, no longer able to move.

The burning in her back began again, this time expanding from the shoulders to the middle of her arms. She just smirked in her head.

_Go ahead, burn. I don't care. Do it as much you want, I don't freaking care. I can take it._

She was beginning to think she had nothing to lose anymore. Her family resented her. John hated her. The X-Men thought she was dead. She didn't even consider the Brotherhood, seeing as Magneto would kill her as soon as he got…her…

She stared at the ground, completely frozen, even her breath stopping.

_DNA_.

It all came to her. The clones. The DNA. That's how he had done it. At her house. And at Dr. McCoy's laboratory. That's why no one could ever find him. He was off gathering samples off their medical records. Dr. McCoy _had_ tested everyone over a course of time. He must have gotten access to the samples. And that's what he was using to make the clones. They had tested everyone. Everyone except her. She was the one he needed to complete the group. That was why John had kept her alive. If not…he would have left her there.

It all hit her at once. It was all a joke. A cover up. He had pulling her leg the whole time. When he said he had been worried about her, it had been a lie.

But then she began to wonder if that was the only lie. How long had that been going on? Had he been lying in the beginning. Was he with Magneto before she had even gotten to the school? Was he a spy?

Now that was just ridiculous. She was getting carried way. But the realization that he had lied came to her so hard it almost knocked her senseless, and before she knew it she had turned around and stomped back to where she left John Allerdyce.

* * *

"Shouldn't we go back? It's gotten really late, and we all need rest," Kitty suggested as they trudged around, separated slightly to cover a bit more ground.

"We have to find Magneto's base, it's the only thing that matters now," Storm stated flatly.

"Oh, _now_ you guys are persistent."

Everyone halted sporadically, and turned surprisingly, expecting the voice to be Bobby's. Even he was surprised that it came from Kitty this time.

"What do you mean, _now_?" Jean asked.

"The only time you feel it's necessary to actually ACT upon something is when half of our kind is already DEAD!"

"What are you getting at here?" Scott asked.

"Did you guys ever stop to actually ACKNOWLEDGE Kari?"

Everyone remained silent, but there were a lot of "Oh God" looks along with "Here we go," muttered by Logan.

"She was the only one who had the guts to keep going after Magneto with everything she had! She knew if he got away the real damage would start. All you guys wanted to do was run!"

"Kari was suicidal," Logan said blatantly.

"For once, shut your DUMB ASS MOUTH," Bobby snapped, "LET HER FINISH."

Logan moved for him and Jean made a narrowing motion with her eyes, and he bumped into an invisible force, and restrained himself from carrying out the impulse to break the teenagers neck.

"We understand what we did wrong, and we're sorry for that," Storm tried to explain.

"No you didn't. She risked her LIFE, something you may never understand —"

"We'll never understand?" Scott cut her off.

"I hate to debate the age thing again, but you guys are still kids. You may be smart, but we risk our lives all the time. We're experienced in this field. We know how hard it is, we've seen things YOU'LL never understand!" Logan cut off Scott.

"Everyone just STOP!" Kurt shouted. Reluctantly, everyone fell silent. "Each of us has gone through something everyone else may not understand. Something easy for you could be hard for some one else, and something hard for you could b easy for them. We all should know this. Some of us are stronger than others, some of us are braver. We value different things, we _love_ different things. But we also value the same things as well. We all loved Kari. She was without a doubt the most intriguing girl of her age I've ever met, and it's a terrible thing she's gone. We all feel differently about this. Some miss her more than others, and it affected others more. You all need to get this through your heads. We can't keep fighting over all of this! All Kari wanted was to catch Magneto and stop him, and she died believing that was the right thing to do! So if you all just want to stand here and bicker the hell out of yourselves over who's smarter and who gives a shit or not, I SAY THAT'S A CRAPPY WAY TO RESPECT HER SACRIFICE!"

Everyone stared is disbelief. Kurt was the one you would least expect in the entire population of the world to speak that way, not to mention the use of vulgarity. And though the silence seemed to say otherwise, everyone was settling into the truth of this rant. He was completely right, and Kitty and Bobby almost felt like fools for not realizing it beforehand.

"Look. We understand you guys are hurt. We know how it feels to lose some one important, and we're sorry. We did wrong, and we understand that. We know you're angry, we know you're sad, but Kurt is right. If we really want to appreciate what Kari did, we'll follow in her steps and catch Magneto."

Kitty looked at Bobby after Jean's words and they both let loose silent sighs. Bobby nodded, and soon after Kitty repeated the action. Everyone exchanged slightly foolish glances and everyone took a long deep breath.

"He's right, we're being childish. Let's focus on finding Magneto," Bobby said quietly. "Kitty," he whispered once they had finally started moving again.

"What?" she asked, obviously still annoyed with him.

"What if we find Kari with Magneto?"

"Get off the subject, Bobby, she's DEAD."

"What are you guys talking about?" Kurt asked, slowing his pace to walk with them.

"N-nothing," they both stammered. He raised one of his eyebrows thoughtfully, then ran to catch up with Storm. They had a hushed conversation, and Bobby and Kitty sighed.

* * *

_"You've killed me Allerdyce…"_

It kept echoing. He blinked a few times before staggering against a tree to support himself. He felt the side of his face. It hadn't been the first time she had hit him. But this time it was different. It had _felt_ different. It wasn't the usual "I'm in a homicidal mood, my mutant side has taken over" hit. This was a hit that had a feeling in it. A meaning.

The feeling that she had MEANT to do it. He rubbed his fingers over his cheek, which was already bruising.

_Like it wasn't already,_ he reminded himself. He felt that unnatural sweat wash over him again followed by the waves of nausea. He tried to keep himself on his feet, pushing himself into a standing position with his arm until he was no longer leaning on the tree. He staggered one more step as a headache started, then all of the sudden, he heard an ear splitting scream close by. He raised his head quickly. It wasn't even twenty feet away. Just behind a bunch of bushes and a few trees. It came again and he moved as quick as his body would allow. Once he cleared the bushes, he saw a figure do a pinball impression through the trunks of the trees, staggering into one, then tripping over its feet into another. It was groaning, and crying out sporadically, then it tumbled towards him, trying to keep on its feet, he backed into the clearing and it tripped over the bushes, landing on its knees with a small yell.

"Kari!"

She shouted something and grabbed the sides of her head.

"OH GOD! AAAAGGGHHH!"

It was a terrifying note, a complete clip out of some psychotic horror movie. It was a haunting scream, like some one was repeatedly stabbing her in the back. It would end and then started again louder. She fell forward on her hands, and that's when he finally heard it.

The disgusting, horrifying sound of ripping flesh.


	39. Demonic Birth

Part 38 – Demonic Birth

**(Author: I would like to make a note here before you begin reading. I would rate this like, "R" if fanfictions had movie ratings. This chapter is very graphic and "horrific", so if you're unstable, do not read it. This is my only warning. Thank you.)**

The rain continued to fall. John watched with the most horrified expression he had ever shown. Once he heard the noise, he felt his stomach lurch, and he held himself from retching even as he pitched forward in a half second jerk. He stepped back through the mud, and he heard the ripping noise again. Once it shot through the air, Kari screamed again. Something rigid was pointing through her shirt from the base of her shoulder blades. She was gripping the top of her head with white knuckles.

John took one more step back as her throat began to sear with the pain of loud screams. But no matter how much they stung, she was unable to stop. There was one more horrendous noise of her skin ripping and he saw a rush of blood flow down the sides of her body, soaking into her shirt.

"OH GOD! AAAAGGGHHHH!"

John felt a disgusting bitter taste in his mouth as he prepared to vomit. Something with sharp edges pushed up against her shirt until another ripping noise was heard. A mix of flesh and fabric. A hole was torn through the shirt, and John saw a bloody mound protruding from her back.

No. Not a mound.

It was another pair of shoulders.

"AAAAAAAAGGHH! HELP ME! OH GOD, IT HURTS!"

It kept sliding from her back, until the top of the shoulders, and the curved back of a neck was visible.

_Oh dear god…_

Kari fell forward until her face was practically pressing into the dirt, like she was trying to suffocate herself through the soil. Her body jerked in agony and with one last sickening squelching noise, a tear ran from her shoulder blade down to the small of her back. Blood began pouring from her skin, and it was now a wonder to John how she had not passed out from blood loss, and how she could possibly still have the energy to scream. Whatever it was kept emerging, slowly, as though it were purposely drawing out the torture.

"MAKE IT STOP, OH GOD, PLEASE! AAAAGGGH!"

John began to twitch involuntarily. The rest of another back began to emerge, like a cat when it stretched, staring with the front, and sending a wave down to its hind end.

John lost it when he saw a head.

A head with a mass of dark, black, bloody, matted hair.

He lurched forward and vomited before he could hold it back again. He felt his mouth stinging and he fell onto to ground, trying to back away by pushing himself back with his hands. He slipped on the wet soil as the rain pounded harder onto them, partially washing the blood from the "creature". It rose as though it were sitting on its knees, its head lolled limply, chin pressed against its chest.

Then, it rose like it was standing. It almost looked human, though John could hardly believe something so monstrous was, being "born" out of a teenage girl's _back_.

Then, out of nowhere, something like wispy black smoke rose from the giant wound on her and filed itself around the figure, cloaking it in what appeared to be clothing, after the blood had been washed away by the rain. Kari rolled onto her side into a small puddle and John watched her blood drip into it, creating hazy patterns with the mud.

She made small, helpless moans, trying to move her body away. Almost the entire inside of her back was now exposed, and was flooding blood from her system. Her fingers twitched and her arm slid across the slippery ground, in a helpless motion.

"John…" she moaned.

Having no idea what to do, he sat there, getting ready to vomit again, as the soaked creature stood erect beside the dying girl, having no idea how the hell it had gotten into the world.

"God...oh god...help me...it hurts..." she said, her fingers curling helplessly around the mud. "Help me...please...John...oh god...it hurts so much..."

After gaining some logic, but god knows what logic it was, John rolled himself into a crawling position and made his way over to her. Not knowing what else to do, he pulled of his jacket and his shirt and tossed them to the side for a moment. He tried to overcome his sickness while he grabbed the remaining connected fabric of her shirt. Keeping her on her stomach, he ripped it in half and pulled it from her arms. He bunched all of the clothes together and made sort of a blockage for the blood. It felt stupid, but it was all he could thing of. Crazily enough, he forgot about the other figure until it stumbled over a puddle, making a faint _splash_ and bumped into a tree to steady itself. Its head was still lolled onto its chest. John pushed himself up and dragged Kari into his lap so she was lying across his legs and he held the clothes over her back.

"John…help…" she grumbled into the side of his pants.

_Seal wound…seal wound…_

The only two words that came to his mind. Then somehow, _cauterize _made its way there. He fumbled for his lighter with slippery fingers, begging it would work in the rain. He knew she would never forgive him for this, nor would he forgive himself. As the unknown figure leaned in an almost drunken way against a tree, staring at its hands, John tried numerous times to light the silver Zippo. He got one small flame, but it went out in a second after being hit with a raindrop. He became angry and the next flame he got he grabbed as quick as he could, snatching at it triumphantly and dropping the lighter. He built the flame up in his palm, making it hot enough to evaporate the rain before it could be extinguished. With a quick but delicate motion, he removed the now bloody articles of clothing and held his breath, shutting his eyes quickly.

_Seeing the aftermath of a battle is worse than watching the war,_ some one's voice said in his head. Reluctantly remembering it was Magneto's, he became to believe that statement. The sight of how torn up her back was, it literally looked like some one had taken a hook and just ripped a gash from the base of her neck to her waist.

_Do it John, she's going to die!_

_I can't —_ he argued.

_DO IT, SHE'S DYING!_

_But —_

_DO IT YOU COWARD!_

He clamped his eyes shut and flared up the fire in his hand, so it covered his fingers like a glove. He sucked in a deep breath, more like just a cloud of nausea and pressed his palm to the gash. He felt his body lock up as he heard her cry out again. This time, instead of flat out screams, it was screaming mixed with sobbing. He felt all of the remnants of her working muscles tense up under his fingertips. She was trembling. It was a nightmarish event, and John was wishing he could kill himself at that moment. Her hands, though they had no real strength left, gripped the sides of his pant legs pitifully, in a sign of pain.

He opened his eyes as he finished and breathed broken breaths.

"I can't…I can't move…help me…can't…" she cried.

Though he was weak, he still felt as though he couldn't admit it. He had to remain strong, and not forget his mission. He had saved her, now he had to make sure it stayed that way. But he couldn't stand up if he tried.

A fork of lighting dances across the clouds in a deafening crash, drowning them all in light for a split second. John pulled his jacket from the mass of bloody clothing and placed it flat over Kari's back. She flinched as the fabric touched her newfound burn.

The figure standing against the tree now stepped back and kept its feet a distance apart to maintain balance. It was facing him, staring at its hands. Out of a subconscious reflex, John grabbed Kari around her stomach and pulled her into a sitting position against his chest. He locked his hands around her and she locked her body up trying to move her head up. She raised her eyes, blurry from water and god knows what else.

Another flash of lightning went, and John got a picture of the figure. It had a long collared cape/cloak on, with a collar that went almost up to its chin. Black gloves on its hands and a pair of baggy camo-type looking pants, with a pair of dark combat boots. It had its hands raised out in front of it, and when another rumble of thunder came with a fork of lightning, it raised its eyes past its hands. Its hair was spiky, still matted with water and blood, but black and spiky. It fell slightly over its eyes…

…which were black and red, and staring right at him.


	40. The Mirror

Part 39 – The Mirror

"Bobby —"

"I know, I heard it."

Both teenagers stopped and looked up after hearing a long echoing scream. Storm looked up through the rain and Wolverine halted. Everyone exchanged glances. After one concerned expression from Kitty, both her and Bobby knew who it had to be. Or who they had to estimate it could be. Even Jean was beginning to take their thoughts as correct.

"That's impossible," Wolverine said slowly, shaking his head.

"What do we do?" Angel asked quickly.

"We have to keep going after Magneto," Scott answered immediately.

"And how do we know he isn't where that scream just came from?" Bobby inquired quickly.

"Don't jump to conclusions," Storm butted in.

"SCREW JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS!" Bobby argued. He grabbed Kitty's arm and they both ran towards the screaming voice. Angel sighed and Kurt grumbled something.

"It's two in the morning, do we REALLY have time for this?" Scott whined.

"You two are the fastest, catch up to them, we'll be right behind you. DON'T LET THEM DO ANYTHING STUPID!" Wolverine demanded.

Angel and Kurt nodded and with two swishes and one puff of dark smoke, they disappeared. Angel was last seen Diving through the trees with rain splattering over his wings. Surprised he could even manage in the weather, Jean grabbed Storm and they headed after the kids.

* * *

John was completely frozen. The rain had soaked completely through him, which didn't seem all that impossible considering both his shirt and jacket were wrapped around Kari. The dark figure, a random estimated six-foot tall body, was staring, or glaring, right at him. He was beginning to forget how to breathe. Kari coughed a bit, spitting up blood onto the ground as she lurched forward. The figure was stationery for a moment, and then began stepping slowly, almost as though it had to concentrate on its feet as to not fall over.

John tried to fumble backwards, but his hands merely slipped in the mud. He grabbed Kari around the middle and kept her close to him, afraid the whatever-it-was might be after her. It stopped right above him, and for once in his life, he felt like passing out. He wanted everything to go black right then. He began to shake all over and even in the dark, he finally saw its face.

It's looked a little older than himself, with eyes that were completely black with dark red pupils, like something created out of a _Stephen King_ book. It looked emotionless, which surprised him, seeing as the whole time he thought it had an intent to kill with glaring eyes. Its ears were pointed at the ends, like some fantasy elf, except he noticed they resembled Kari's when she had first transformed on top of Dr. McCoy's laboratory. It even had similar eyes.

Its hair was dark, and wet, and probably still dripped with blood, but its face was clean. A little water running down it, but for the most part, it almost looked like it had been standing there the whole time, no horrifying "born from a teenager's back" scene with blood everywhere.

John was sill shaking and began to shake even harder when it reached out a hand. It was like a nightmare that he couldn't wake up from, a nightmare that you had several times, with a scary man chasing you and when he caught you he reached for your throat. John's limb went numb as it knelt down and held its hand forward. His eyes widened and then suddenly clamped shut, as he mentally tried to make himself black out.

_Oh God, please don't let it kill me, make it go away, please, oh God…_

His body locked up and then he felt a cold hand rest on the side of his face. He snapped his eyes open in shock and froze, his heartbeat almost stopping. The hand moved up through his wet hair, and he lost his breath in his throat. Then he heard it. The most confusing thing he had ever heard in his life.

It snickered.

He blinked once, and the sound came again. It continued to snicker, a deep chuckling that he could have sworn would be the last thing he ever heard. Until finally, it evolved to a full out laugh, like it had heard the joke of a lifetime.

"Hi, John," it laughed, in an almost normal voice. The voice of an eighteen-year-old boy, who acted like today was the best day of his life. John was hoping he had passed out and was now dreaming. Had that thing seriously just said his name? He couldn't even search for his voice to ask what the hell it was and how the hell it knew him. He felt the hand leave his now wet ruffled hair and rest lightly on its knee. It was crouched down, its intense eyes now staring at Kari, who was pretty much curled up and only half conscious in John's lap. John tried to make a sound, but not even a wisp of air came through his throat.

An inquisitive look came over "him", as John referred to the figure mentally now, as it stared at Kari, who was desperately, with tears stinging down her face, trying to endure all of her pain. His hand went out to touch her and John, out of some instinct, slapped it away, lifting Kari up so she was sitting, facing front, with one arm around her stomach and the other under her arm, across her chest, and over her shoulder, like she was a large stuffed animal, and he was a three year old clutching it in fear of the monster hidden behind a closet door. He felt Kari's erratic heartbeat on his arm and her body shaking almost the same way his was. The figure had his hand outstretched in a sort of skeptical manner.

With a raspy and pretty much unheard protest, John tried to voice "Don't touch her."

Whether the other had not heard, or whether he was ignoring him, John didn't know. But it reached out anyway and as John narrowed his eyes in the angriest manner he could muster, but still not containing enough energy to fight him off. The hand, to his surprise, went to the side of Kari's face, pushing away several pieces of drenched hair out of Kari's face. She took in a sharp breath, which was an attempt to recoil. Her eyelids twitched, closed at the time and the hand rested on her cheek. She tried to retain her breathing and slowly opened her eyes, revealing a very wet and blurry world.

"M…mw…wha…" she half voiced.

John watched the expressions of the older boy, as its eyes narrowed in concentration while it delicately held Kari's face straight, almost level with his. Her eyes were half shut, apparently unaware of what they were looking at. They blinked out droplets of water, and then a spasm went over her face as she shook it a bit. She swallowed with a dry throat and blinked again. It took what seemed like hours to her until her vision became slightly clear.

John was left completely in the dark as the two had a silent "greeting".

"Kari." the figure said after a while. It wasn't a question, but it wasn't a statement either. More like a revelation.

"Wh…who are you?" she asked in a quiet, raspy tone.

His finger went to the side of her eye. It was cold and she blinked a bit. He stared closely at them, absorbing every color he could before…

…he laughed again. Another low chuckle.

"I'm on the outside looking in," he said, in John's opinion, crazily. Even in her weakened state, Kari was able to piece together the riddle.

"Crevan?"


	41. Blame

Part 40 – Blame

"How did you…"

"Get out? Good question," he finished. He stood upright and shrugged with that "crazy" smile, as John described it.

"Fifteen years. Fifteen god damned years."

"Fifteen what?" she muttered.

"And YOU NEVER HAD THE GUTS TO DO IT BEFORE!"

John jumped and Kari's head throbbed suddenly from Crevan's raised voice.

"How did you do it? I mean honestly. I never would have been able to think of a way. What did you do? Ask Xavier to let me out? Some "soul separation" spell? Did you talk to Cain and ask him where that stupid temple was? Did he find a spell for you or something? God, you really are a genius. To bad you had to bleed that much for it. I'd have sympathy but seeing as it took you THAT long to get me out, I'm not exactly feeling sympathetic right now."

_What the fuck?_ John rambled in his head.

"If you weren't already half dead, you know, I'd kill you myself," he added.

John's head jerked and he felt his fingers tighten over Kari's sides. He felt half selfish when he was realizing part of the reason he held to tight onto her was because if Crevan decided to get into a homicidal frenzy he would grab her first.

"Oh this is perfect. I can't believe this. I have a body. I have my own hands. I'm seeing with my own eyes!"

"Kari, who's Crevan?" John whispered suddenly into her ear. It took her a moment to gain the breath required to reply.

"He's…another…part of my mutant ability…"

"You mean the ONLY side," Crevan corrected.

"Only?" John repeated, mostly to himself.

"Xavier…said he was like another…personality…"

"Like M.P.D.?" John asked in a skeptical mutter.

"M.P.D.," Crevan scoffed to himself.

"He's…a demon…spirit thing…that I was merged with…he's the reason…I…attacked you at…Dr. McCoy's…he's my power…"

"Not anymore. I'm free." Crevan gave sort of a triumphant smile. In the rain and with his glowing eyes it was the scariest and most intimidating thing John had seen yet.

"I…don't know how…he could have…gotten out…"

"Oh, whatever. Then how did I get out if you didn't have anything to do with it?" Crevan sneered.

"Will you shut up!" John snarled. Crevan's eyes snapped on him with a new ferocity and made him feel like he wished he had never learned to speak.

"I wouldn't spout off any attitude, flame boy. If you hadn't noticed, what she stated is fact. I AM her mutant side, meaning I could easily beat your ass into the mud if I felt compelled to. And I'm not normally the kind to think twice. But thanks to HER, I've been forced to have my impulses repressed for the last fifteen years."

_Then I'm guessing he's not in the mood for backtalk. Got it._ John swallowed nervously. Crevan kept his eyes narrowed and Kari's hands, which were previously limp in her lap, twitched as very limited feeling came back to them.

"John…get away from him…"

"What?"

"Get away from him…he's dangerous…he can kill you…"

"Kill me? Why would he do that?"

"Because I can. I'd take her advice. She's really the only one here who knows me. If you're any wise whatsoever, you won't cop an attitude."

"What attitude am I giving you?" John shot back. For once he wished he could never think of any sarcastic comebacks. He wished again everything would black out after he saw Crevan's eyes continue to glare at him through the rain.

* * *

"Come on, this way!" Bobby called, motioning for Kitty as they tramped through the mud.

"Shouldn't we wait for the others? They're way behind!" Kitty asked.

"We can't!"

Suddenly, there was a bright flash of lighting. Once it disappeared, three others struck in the same place. Long volts of electricity ran to the same spot, but it looked like it was traveling to a slow moving source.

"What the hell?" Bobby said suddenly, sliding to a halt and almost falling in the mud. Kitty stumbled into him and they saw a pair of dim wings above them.

"Bobby!" some one called. It was Storm. As Angel descended and Kurt _bamf_ed his way to them, the rest of the X-Men appeared.

"Don't ever take off like that!" Scott demanded in an unnecessary parent-like force.

"Storm, what's that?" Kitty asked, pointing to the several volts of lightning that were still shooting off.

"I don't know," she answered after a pause.

"It looks like something's attracting the lighting," Jean suggested.

"Like a lighting rod?"

"Not a moving one," Logan added.

"In all honesty, I think only I'd be able to pull that off. I've done it before," Storm admitted.

"But it can't be you if —" Bobby froze.

Everyone exchanged lances and once they all realized they had the same idea, they took off.

* * *

"They're less than fifty meters ahead!"

"Hurry up, we have to get back to the base, the X-Men are still here, remember?"

"It's worth it if it is a Class 5 mutant."

"It better be or I'll have you for this, dragging me out here for nothing."

"Would I do that to you, sir?"

"Complete trust in anyone is a foolish trait," Magneto reminded.

Moments before, Callisto had bolted into Magneto's room, raving about the presence of a familiar mutant, but unsure of whom it was. With a few clones with them, they headed out in search of it, an automatic plan of adding a powerful mutant to the Brotherhood being created.

"Just over here!" Callisto called over another crash of lighting overhead, being controlled by Magneto's clone of Storm. A side effect, which was not intentional. A secret he was hoping to prevent the X-Men from finding out. The clones were imperfect, obviously, just a few bugs he hoped to cure soon.

"Here, we're close!" Callisto reported.

"Good, I'm getting damp," Magneto stated in a flat sarcastic tone.

* * *

"John…get out of here…" Kari repeated pitifully.

"Like you'd last any longer than me!" he shot back.

"Would you believe," Crevan asked suddenly as he knelt down in front of Kari. He grabbed her left hand and lightly pulled off her half glove, part of her uniform, which she was still wearing. He tossed it onto the ground dismissively and held up her hand in front of her with a surprisingly delicate touch. "That these were once my hands?"

"Just because you were part of me…doesn't mean…that you owned me…" Kari tried to be defensive.

"Oh, that's where you're wrong. You never had complete control. I just held back. I could have killed you if I wanted to," he added.

"You couldn't though…"

"It's not a matter of couldn't. More like a matter of wouldn't."

"BULL SHIT," Kari said in a normal tone, making John jump. She coughed and began to tremble.

"Here!" a voice said suddenly. A bundle of faces traveled through a brush and John looked up with wide, completely terrified eyes.

"Oh no," he choked.

"John," Kari said quickly, trying to move her body, and gaining only failure.

"John?" a voice practically gasped.

"KARI!"

Her head turned in a painful jerk to the left.

"Bobby!" she said, half thankful, half in shock.

"MAGNETO!" a fierce yell cried suddenly. Kari watched the outline of Wolverine lunge through the air at the elder man who was lost in shock at the fact the two of them were alive. Crevan stood there with a half bored expression in slight confusion.

Wolverine was thrown back as Magneto waved his hand in a half defensive maneuver. Scott was getting prepared to set an optic blast when Callisto suddenly cried, "IT'S HIM!" Magneto's glance traveled to where she was pointing.

Right at Crevan.

"STORM!"

"GO!" Angel yelled quickly as he took flight. He dove at Magneto as Storm faced her clone, which had approached her without her notice. Scott and Logan ran for Callisto, and Juggernaut appeared almost from nowhere. Nightcrawler made a small _bamf_ and latched onto his back, pulling him backwards and leaping off in a flip, kicking Multiple Man as he came from behind Magneto.

Without warning a large rumble of thunder was heard from behind one of the mountains, and a link of lightning began traveling through the clouds. It reached where the entire group fought. The bolt crackled, striking a mere five meters from where John held Kari. He jumped to the side in a scream and Kari tumbled across the grass.

Then all at once, with a glance from Magneto, Storm's clone's eyes became opal colored. With a small spark of a hypothesis, Kari put everything into a vague puzzle.

"JOHN!" she yelled.

Arclight was noticed running towards Callisto, a clone of Kurt was seen latching onto John's back, and Arclight clapped.

With another strike of lightning, a scream from Kari as she reached for John, and Magneto's group grabbing Crevan, there was a giant flash and the only sound heard was the rain as Kari's vision went black and she fell into the mud.


	42. New Commander

Part 41 – New Commander

"Professor, please, just one more time!"

"No, I've already tried, we have to wait until tomorrow!"

"Why can't you try again _now_?"

"Because it clearly means she's not ready to wake up!"

_Bamf_.

Bobby jumped and cried out and the professor turned around. Kurt gave them all a smile.

"She's awake!"

"FINALLY!" Bobby said joyously, bolting down the hallway. Xavier sighed.

"I've never liked this part." He started down the hallway after Bobby's pounding footsteps. When he reached the room, Bobby was practically jumping around and Kitty was leaning anxiously over Kari's bed. Her eyes were half open and she gave a groan at the lights.

"Thank the Lord you're alive," Kurt said gleefully.

"I've only died how many times already? I think I'm used to it," was Kari's grumbled answer. She moved her arm to push herself up in the bed, or at least she thought she moved her arm. She looked down and saw it hadn't even twitched.

"Here we go again. Professor, what happened to me?"

"And here _we_ go again," Xavier muttered. He moved himself up to the bed while Bobby and Kitty stood on the other side. Kurt stood beside the professor with his arms crossed.

"Where's John?" was of course, her first question.

"He's gone," Xavier answered blandly, "Eric took him again."

"Is it threatening to say that I'm going to kill that bastard magnetic field?"

"Well, for now, you're confined to here. Jean has suggested to remain in this condition for at least another two weeks."

"NO."

"This isn't a matter of argument, Kari. You no longer have a source of mutant power. Crevan's gone."

Kari froze. Then that whole thing wasn't a dream. She shut her eyes tightly and a shiver went through her body. Remembering all of the details made her nauseous.

"You've lost a tremendous amount of blood, but we were able to stabilize you before it got worse. Crevan has been taken by Eric, along with John, and for now, we can't do anything about it."

"Mutant power or not, that man needs to die!" Kari said in a tantrum.

"Revenge or not, Kari, you're only human now."

She fell silent and Bobby exchanged glances with Kitty.

"Wha — how? How come?" Kitty asked.

"We found traces of the Anti-X virus in your system," Xavier began, earning a gape from Kari, "Since Crevan was in fact the source of your mutant power, in simple terms he _was_ your mutant gene, by injecting you with the virus, Crevan was born."

"How is that possible?" Bobby asked, totally confused.

"The Anti-X virus is meant to separate the mutant gene from a mutant. Separate, or eliminate. In Kari's case, since Crevan was the mutant gene, in order to be separated from her body, he had to possess one of his own. "

"So he came out of my back," Kari finished, disgusted.

"Needless to say, you're incapable of mobility for a while, until your blood begins to circulate normally again and your spine reattaches."

"Reattaches?" Kari repeated.

"When did it break in the first place?" Kitty asked, still not understanding everything.

"And how could Crevan have materialized out of nowhere with a physical body?" Bobby asked.

"The mutant gene is capapble of replicating DNA at an incredible rate. By being able to merge with Kari's DNA, it, amazingly, was able to generate its own cells."

"Isn't that going against the law of conservation of matter?" Kari asked.

"You know too much," Bobby said skeptically.

"Yes it is, and I'm sure a new theory will be modified if this becomes open to the world of science. But back to Crevan. Since his own cells were formed from yours, that still makes him technically 'part' of you. But physically, you are no longer a mutant, for your source is now its own living creature."

"That's gross," Bobby said, with a disgusted expression.

"You should have been there," Kari grumbled.

"Now, enough discussion. You need rest, and I need Kitty and Bobby in my office. Kurt, will you fetch Jean and Storm for me?"

"Yes."

Everyone exited and left Kari lying in her hospital bed with a very displeased emotion. Needless to say, she now had one man at the top of her hit list.

Eric Lensherr.

* * *

"Remarkable," Magneto said with a satisfied grin. "So you were her mutant power?"

"In a manner of speaking. But now that she's not there to hold me back, I'm stronger. Humans are a nuisance," he added.

"Kari isn't," John grumbled to himself.

"Callisto, do me a favor and get Pyro to his quarters. Give him a dose of the virus's cure. He needs to rest."

"Yes, sir," Callisto nodded. She approached John and he stood up in half defiance.

"I'm fine," he growled, walking out of his leader's office. Callisto nonetheless followed him and Magneto remained in his chair, looking Crevan up and down with an admiring glint in his eyes.

"I'm informed that you're a Class 5. That's a rare type for these days."

"What can I say? I'm special," Crevan answered sarcastically.

"I like your attitude. Tell me, how exactly did you escape from her?"

"That would be a very long discussion of chemical compounds and genetics. And I'm not one who's fond of science."

"Very good. How would you like to help me?"

"It depends on what I'm assisting."

"You say humans are a nuisance? What if we could eliminate that problem?"

"Kill two birds with one stone, I'd say."

"I like it."

Magneto smiled and Crevan leaned against the wall with a smirk on his face. One that was such a remarkable resemblance to Kari's that it made Magneto feel like he had just won the lottery.

John sat in his room. It was small, but at least it had a bed. All of the rooms were small, except Juggernaut's, and of course, Magneto's. There had to be enough to fit all of the Brotherhood. The base spread at last half a mile in each direction if you stood in the center. It was enormous, but somehow still cramped. John had enough room to stand up from his bed and take five steps to the door, which he did now. He shut the door in half a slam, frustrated.

He flopped back onto his bed and sighed. He was still covered in dirt, and Kari's blood, which sickened him the most. His jacket and his shirt were probably still in the middle of the woods, he thought. His lighter was in his pocket. His pulled it out in a delicate manner and ran his fingers over it. The sound of his door opening made him shove it back into his pocket, his heart thumping. To his immense surprise, Crevan stepped in and shut the door, leaning against it with a tired expression painted across his face.

"Get out," John demanded.

"Like I'd come in here on my own free will. Magneto told me to give you this." He handed John a small glass of water and a dark green pill.

"He said it's the cure for the virus. And you're not allowed to leave the base."

"Bite me," John grumbled as he shut the door. He swallowed the green pill and had a mouthful of water when Crevan opened the door and poked his head in.

"Just because I'm a dog doesn't mean I bite assholes," he shot back. He shut the door quickly as John threw the glass at the door, watching the water and glass shoot off everywhere. He fell back onto his bed, his hands shaking angrily in the realiziation that he had a new rival.

_Don't leave the base my ass._

He seemed confident at his stubbornness, because the next morning, he crept out of the base.

* * *

Kari stared at the ceiling of the room. It was cold, she was still in her uniform, or at least her pants, and she had a large bandage wrapped from her neck down to her hips, sealing off the large rip that John had burned shut. Remember that made her subconsciously twitch in an attempt to puke. It was six thirty in the morning. She had only been at the mansion for six hours. Despite her exhaustion, she couldn't sleep.

She had scratches, bruises, and cuts everywhere. So many bandages were on her body she felt like a mummy. And all she could think about was whether John had gained any sense. Was he still planning to work for Magneto? He _had_ saved her out there. If he hadn't thought of sealing off the gash down her back she would have bled to death. That had to mean something, right?

_I sure as hell hope so._

And as she thought this, John was walking out of Magneto's base into the cold air of a barely rising sun.

* * *

As John felt the rush of freezing air of his chest, he looked around. A dim glow in the sky told him the sun was just beginning to rise. He stared at the ground, at his mud covered boots as he kept walking, and found himself leading his feet back to where it happened. It seemed like it would have been hard to find, but aside from the idea that a lightning strike had occurred, he seemed to find it just fine.

He stood in the clearing with his hands in his pockets, his right hand turning his lighter over and over. He stared at the ground. He didn't see his jacket, or his shirt. He thought they had either taken it, or the lightning had burned it. Somehow that seemed more logical, considering Kari hated him.

Was it even worth going out there if he knew that? For all he knew Magneto would beat him to death, considering his lack of tolerance for disobedience. He doubted anyone was even asleep, so sneaking in would be hell.

_Oh well._

At least he was alive. And if the virus was being canceled out, he still had his power. That was good. Maybe Magneto was his best choice. The X-Men wouldn't take him. Humans would kill him out of fear. The military already wanted to take him in for testing. They were probably still looking for him, but if he stayed in the base they wouldn't find him. It was underground, so what was the worst that could happen?

_Other than everything?_

Not to mention now he was stuck with Kari's _other_ personality. He was already on the verge of killing himself over that; he could hardly stand the man. That whole incident would haunt him forever.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes with his hand. He turned and started back before his froze. He turned his head and looked over his shoulder.

Lying under a few leaves, soaked with mud and rain, was Kari's glove.

_("Would you believe that these were once my hands?")_

John knelt down and picked it up gently.

_("Oh _really_? You _weren't_ the one who leapt out of a flying helicopter?"_

"_I'm not the one who jumped AT the helicopter. And I was protecting my leader, and you KNOW that!"_

"_It was a stupid, pointless choice, and you know THAT!")_

He held the glove with both hands, letting his eyes study the faded white "X" on the black fabric.

_("You used to be so predictable, and for the first time you did something I never imagined you would. Now I'm going to do something for a change.")_

He saw her face. It jumped right in front of his eyes, with that expression he now hated.

_("I'm giving up on you.")_

His eyes wandered over the glove for a moment, and he watched as the flash of her face disappeared slowly.

_("I'm giving up on you.")_

Did that mean it was a final decision? That even now she was giving up? Would she ever change her mind? He slowly slipped the glove over his fingers and stared at the ground, holding his wrist.

_She was never one who was persuaded easily,_ he reminded himself.

"John."

He nearly jumped fifty feet and spun around. Crevan was, as always, standing there staring at him with those odd eyes, in his collared cape.

"Can I help you," John snapped.

"You're not supposed to leave the base," he reminded.

"I'll do what I damn well please. You don't own me."

"Magneto does," he shot back.

_Shit, he's right._

John hated that fact. As much as he wanted to deny it, he did refer to Magneto as his leader. His master.

_("I'm not the one who jumped AT the helicopter. And I was protecting my leader, and you KNOW that!" )_

He grumbled something inaudible and sighed.

"That's just makes you one more idiot under my command," Crevan added as he reached forward and shoved John back down the path to the base.

"Says who?" he argued, jerking away from him.

"Thanks to your little episode, I'm now his second in command. You're bumped off the chart, little boy. Now get back to your quarters before I report you."

"You're enjoying this, I can tell."

"I'm just making up for all the times you pissed me off and your stupid little girlfriend stopped me from killing you."

"You wouldn't dare. Magneto would kick you right out to the military."

"You go ahead and think that. But from this point on, you listen to me."

John turned around and got as close to Crevan's face as he could.

"I don't take orders from anyone, asshole. You can go about with your little revenge scheme, you can boss me around all you want, but I'm not going to listen. So stick your tail between your legs and hide behind your master."

John found his neck being gripped by a strong hand, and his feet just barely touching the mud below him as Crevan glared at him.

"Speak for yourself, sparkplug. You talk to me like that again, I don't care how pissed that walking magnet gets. I'll have your ass plastered all over these woods."

"You go ahead and try it," John said provokingly. Crevan threw him backwards and he slid across the mud, stopping after about ten feet. He went to push himself up and he felt a boot slam onto his chest, pressing him back into the ground.

"She's not here to hold me back anymore. Remember that."

The elder boy picked him up by his hair and stood him on his feet. John grimaced from the blinding pain and felt himself shoved forward again. All he could think now was, _FUCK._


	43. Choosing Lives

Part 42 – Choosing Lives

**Three Weeks Later**

Kari had been discharged a few days prior, and she was now making her way around on her own, slowly but surely. After more detailed explanations from Professor Xavier, she had finally accepted she was no longer a mutant, but that hadn't changed anything between her, Kitty, and Bobby. Upon her return, she had been informed of the death of Jubilee and Rogue, which was almost the hardest part. But soon it was all just part of the normal, everyday life. Just like the students that had lost their lives infiltrating Magneto's first base during the trip to Alkali Lake. An entire courtyard was now made to commemorate them all. And the three of them visited it everyday.

Classes had officially been discontinued around the time of Kari's return. They found it all much more important to focus on the battle against Magneto, and just for participating, all students were given passing grades for the year. Though this brought much relief and joy to the students, it was still hard work they had to do. Many students, in fact almost the entire school were focusing on creating strategies that could possibly become a weakness to Magneto, and the rest of the X-Men were drawing up plans for an attack on Magneto's new base. The coordinates had been discovered, but still hidden in hopes that the government would not get a hold of them.

Yet even through all of this, Kari suddenly felt like an outcast. She felt the same she had when she had first arrived at the school. Holding the belief she was not one of them, getting bullied, and shunned. Though that wasn't happening now, she still felt like it was, and for the first time in a long time, she wanted to go back home.

She sat on her bed now, attempting to sleep, even though it was early in the afternoon. All she could do was stare at the veiling. She wasn't even tired enough to shut her eyes for more than a blink. Bobby and Kitty were down with Logan, drawing up more tactics, and doing last minute training in the _Danger Room_, which it had recently been dubbed.

She sighed and rubbed her eyes, not out of fatigue, but out of annoyance. She wanted to scratch her eyes out, but that wouldn't do any good. Since Rogue was gone, she now only shared a room with Kitty, and she looked now at her companion's bed. A book was propped open where she had left it; she had been reading when Logan had called for her. Kari sat up and crossed her legs. She looked at the foot of her bed.

John's jacket was strewn across it. She had worn it every day now, a sort of subconscious habit. She needed something of his, she realized, and the only she had was the jacket. Even when it wasn't cold, she wore it. Last week she had misplaced it and almost went insane. She practically ripped her side of the room apart until she remembered she had left it in Bobby's room the night before.

That was another thing. The three of them had been having meetings at night. Occasionally in the girls' room, then after a while they'd switch to his room. The point to the meetings was still unknown even to them, but they basically discussed what they think the right action to take against Magneto would be, past incidents, and either Kari would ask about things that happened when she was gone, or they would ask her. And almost every time, the subject landed on John.

Everyone wasn't sure where he or she stood on that subject. No one knew how they felt about him anymore. Whether he was a traitor, whether he was just being misunderstood, what his true intentions were, or if he even remember them. Kari argued at that point that he remembered her, and Kitty only answered with a, "DUH."

But still, the meetings went on, and pretty soon, even during the day they were practically inseparable, except when the duties of actions in the battle called, and Kari had to stay behind.

She hated feeling useless. She wanted to help somehow, but without any powers, how was she SUPPOSED to help?

She took in a deep breath and sighed slowly, for what seemed like minutes. She grabbed John's jacket, slowly slipped it on and reached for the doorknob. She looked up as Kitty phased through it. She was so used to it, it really didn't make her jump anymore.

"Oh, hey Kitty," she said tonelessly.

"Hi!" Kitty said cheerfully.

"How was the meeting with Logan?"

"Ugh, dull as usual. But as long as it helps, I suppose I can handle it."

"Understandable. I'm going to take a walk, so, I'll see you in a few."

"Okay. Don't get lost," Kitty added jokingly as Kari shoved her hands into the jacket pockets and headed out the door. She passed Bobby; they gave each other a sweet smile, and then went on their way.

It was nearing the end of December, and snow was already covering the campus. It made her smile, just seeing the white everywhere, like the world was a blank piece of paper, waiting for her to do whatever she wanted with it. She wandered around the basketball court behind the school, and watched her tracks slowly in the crunchy white ice.

Her normal, everyday question drifted to her head like a nasty habit: What was John doing right now?

She sighed and shivered for a moment. She looked up at the light gray sky. It seemed so blank, everything. The world around her just seemed so dull. It was like everything had become void of feeling. Or everything just became greatly acquainted with the word "boredom". It made her feel lazy, and not useful. It was moments like these she wished for a normal life. Something like sitting in front a fire in a house, reading a book while huddled under a blanket, right before Christmas, or running around outside chucking snowballs at others.

She knelt down and picked up a clump of snow in her bare hand. The straight contact made an automatic numbness come to her fingers, but she leaned against the pole of one of the basketball hoops and mashed it all together roughly. Once it almost became a solid mass, she broke off the edges and started molding a small rectangular object, hardly as big as her palm.

No one hated her, as far as she knew. She still had friends. Xavier was helping her. But she still wasn't home. She wasn't with her family. And she couldn't go back anyway. They might be happy if she told them the news, but everything just wouldn't be the same.

She liked this life better.

She took her fingernail and etched a line all around the ice just above halfway. She straightened the edges a bit more.

Maybe she should go home. Maybe she could start her life over. She could go to a different school, star all over, and make new friends. But she would still miss Kitty and Bobby. And they weren't like her now. But she wasn't exactly the type who belonged at Xavier's school now. She was only human.

She began etching a small design on the front of the ice now. A diagonal line there, and there…a little circle here…

But she couldn't give up on John.

_("I'm giving up on you.")_

But didn't she decide to? Could she change her mind?

She weighed the options. She could go back home. She could go to a normal school, be with normal people, and have the life she always wanted, and she could get her whole life back, have a perfect family. Or she could stay, and save John.

She drew two more curved lines, and stared at her creation. A small, ice made replica of John's Zippo.

"I guess it's unanimous," she muttered, watching the ice very slowly melt in her hands. She tossed it back onto the white ground she saw a familiar man sitting by the doors leading back inside.

Xavier.

She took in a deep breath, shoved her frigid hands into her pockets and walked over to him, again paying attention to her footprints with a secret fascination, making her smile in her mind.

"So, how are you today?" the professor asked with a smile.

"Same as always I suppose," she answered.

"Not to seem like I was eavesdropping, but it seems like you're in a bit of conflict with yourself," he admitted.

She shrugged and opened the door, letting him follow her inside. She walked beside him and said, "I'm not exactly sure where I stand right now."

"Where you stand is where you choose to stand."

"But I don't know if it's right to stay here anymore. I'm not…like everyone here. I changed."

"Don't let technical DNA make-ups decide who you think you are. Just because you're mutant gene is gone, doesn't mean you've changed."

"Oh really? How's that?"

"You're still the same person. The only difference, in all honesty, is now your physical ability. Yet physical abilities aren't always what matter. You're still you."

"But I'm not…_qualified_ to be here anymore. I'm not a mutant. I'm a human."

"You said that the very day you walked in here," he reminded, "And what happened then?"

"Are you saying I'm _still_ a mutant?" she asked skeptically.

"No. I'm saying that just because you're human doesn't mean you don't belong here. Take Mystique for example. She has lost all of her mutant abilities, and yet she stays here. Why?"

"Because everyone knows who she is and they'd _still_ kill her if she was found?" was the sarcastic reply.

"She's still here because she believes the people here are her real family. The people that understand her, know how she feels. Do you think Kitty and Bobby are like that?"

"I'd consider them the only people close to me right now," she nodded.

"Would you rather go back home and try to restart something that, if you don't mind my saying so, you completely believe will not work?"

Kari stared at him. They had stopped in the hallway outside his office.

"Are you really ready to give up on everything you've worked so hard for? You deserve it all. Why throw it away so quickly?"

She pondered this, and he gave her a smile.

"Don't sacrifice your treasures for something you aren't fully confident in."

He exited the hallway and into his office, leaving her standing outside the door. She kept her hands in her jacket pockets the whole time she traveled back to her room. She entered, and seeing Kitty was gone, sat on her bed and gave it all a long and careful thought. She opened the drapes to the window and leaned against the wall, staring out onto the grounds with crossed arms.

"Can I really give up on all of this?"

If Magneto succeeded in using his new virus, and dispersing the X-Men clones, everyone was basically dead. The X-Men would be framed, the military would catch them, Magneto would turn millions involuntary humans into mutants, and even kill them if the virus went wrong. Including her parents. So they way she mapped it out was, she had to stay here and help anyway she could. If she just went back to her normal life, the virus could reach them and they'd die.

She went over this in her head as she saw Bobby and Kitty walking slowly across the grounds, seeming to be in a deep conversation. Her thoughts ran amok as she tried to come to a conclusion. And she almost thanked the heavens, if she believed there were any, when she realized all of this lead to another unanimous decision. She couldn't leave, she had to stay. And if she stayed…

…she would find John.

She felt a small smile cross her face and she watched her two friends wander in the snow, stop their walking, and continue to converse.

She gave a thankful sigh, and watched, in a lazy surprise, as both of their mouths stopped moving for a moment, halt, and then meet in a gentle kiss. She almost grinned to herself, and strangely enough, as she watched them, almost saw herself and John, standing in the snow in their place.

John shivered for a moment, and heard some footsteps pass his door. He huddled under his blanket quietly, and listened for them to disappear. It was a little past midnight, and he considered himself crazy for even attempting what he was about to do.

He waited another two seconds, to make sure there were no noises, and he slowly lifted the blanket and pushed it to the edge of his bed. As quiet as a mouse, he shoved his feet into his boots and reached for his shirt. He was halfway through getting it over his head, when his door opened, and his heart stopped.

_Oh god, please no._

"Going for a walk, I presume," Crevan stated sarcastically. John snapped his eyes shut as the feeling plunged into his stomach of utter guilt. That was it. He was busted.

"I knew you were going to try something. It's written all over your face, every time I see your eyes."

John dropped his shirt onto his bed, and then, trying to hide the fact his knees were shaking, turned around.

After the past few weeks, all John could do was cower at the man. He now scared John more than anything in his life. Since he had been appointed the "second hand officer" at Magneto's side, he had been bossing John around. But not just bossing. It was much worse.

Crevan was on his back, all the time. Shouting, yelling, even beating him down every time he got the chance. Even though the elder boy claimed this to be an act of revenge, John felt this to be something deeper, if it was going that far. It was his only hope that Crevan would not find out what he was trying to do. And now that he had been caught by his living nightmare, he wished he could just die. He was willing, pretty much for the first time, to get on his knees and beg for _mercy_ from this man. He was constantly haunted by those eyes, and his voice, feeling he was behind him, breathing down his neck every time he moved.

"So what are you going to do now? Kill me?"

"You think I'm that nice?" Crevan answered. He was leaned against John's door again, only in his pants, seeing as it was midnight and all were supposed to be asleep except the night watch, Multiple Man.

"Please, don't mention this to anyone, if Magneto finds out —"

"What's the worse that could happen? You're already in deep shit now that I'm here."

"That's true, but still. You can't do anything to me. Magneto would be on your back faster than you're always on mine."

"You really think so?"

"Creavn —"

He didn't even get to finish as the other's hand went around his neck and slammed him against the wall.

_This is only the _millionth_ time some one's done this to me._

"If I killed you, I'd have nothing to do around here. In more ways than one," he added with a death-like tone. He pulled John back and pushed him over to the opposite side of the small room. He toppled onto his bed and his head slammed against the wall with a _crack_ that echoed through his eardrums. She curled into a ball with his arms over his head and grimaced, to hurt to even complain.

"Why exactly do you want to leave, John?"

"Because Magneto's insane, his plan is insane, I have to find Kari, and I can't stand YOU!" he yelled.

"Oh, keep your voice down," Crevan scoffed.

"NO! You're completely insane! I don't know why I haven't said it before, BUT YOU ARE! You're violent, you're insane, totally psychotic, and I can't stand you! You scare the living hell out of me! I need to get away from you; I need to get away from this place! I'm getting OUT!" John shouted. He jumped from the bed and ran for the door. It seemed like an odd and pitiful move, because the room was so small and it didn't take much, but once John grasped the handle, Crevan shoved him back. He tried again, and this time, to his complete terror, found Crevan pinning his arms to the wall with both hands.

"Don't make me hurt you more than I already am, I like to conserve my punishments for something more severe."

"PUNISHMENTS MY ASS, LET ME GO!"

John kicked him back in the stomach and Crevan fell onto his bed. As he tried to grab for the door once more, Crevan sat up, grabbed his arms, flipped him over, and he found himself on his back with Crevan straddling him to keep him down.


	44. One More Member

Part 43 – One More Member

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING! GET OFF OF ME!"

"_All Commanders report to my office immediately. Repeat, all Commanders, report to my office immediately_."

Crevan looked up as Magneto's voice echoed over the intercom.

"That would be you. Now get your ass off me," John added angrily. Crevan gave him a stare that terrified him, and then to his great relief, rose and stood up.

"Get the fuck out of my room before I _kick_ you out," he threatened. John found a hand wrap around his left wrist and with a sickening crack, it was thrown against the wall, his body following it. It was broken, but it definitely hurt. Crevan got up to his face.

"You don't order me around, got it?"

The fingers were gripping so tight that John felt the feeling in his own fingers go numb. When he was finally released, he felt claws, which felt more like jagged pieces of glass, slash across the bottom of his wrist. He cried out for a moment and grasped it, holding it tightly.

"That's to remind you who the superior is here."

Crevan opened the door and slammed it behind him. John felt every ounce of rage he had rise at that moment, and he made a low growling noise before slamming his foot into the bottom of the door. Even though he was wearing his boots, a shockwave of pain still ran through his toes. He bit his lip and sank against the wall, squeezing his fingers as tightly as he could around his wrist.

That arrogant…FUCKING…bastard… 

"_All members are to report to the lab room, repeat, all members report to lab room 2."_

He gritted his teeth and grabbed his shirt, pulling it on quickly as he walked out of his room, leaving a few drips of blood as he did so. He continued to clutch it tightly as he followed the small crowd of people down the hallway. When they approached the lab room, everyone was surprised to see it was completely cleared of all experiments that had previously been going on. Magneto was at the front of the room with a few of his commanding officers, including Crevan.

"My brothers, the time has come," he called as a hush went over the crowd, "The time for us to strike humanity as we know it. All of our noble kind as betrayed us. Mutants and humans alike are now against us. You know I speak of the X-Men as I say this! Well now, I say, it is time to give them BACK WHAT THEY'VE DONE TO US!"

A cheer went through the crowd as everyone's exhaustion suddenly disappeared and was replaced with excitement. John looked to the side and kept his eyes on Crevan.

"They've humiliated our kind. Coexisting with humans. What next? I say we fight back, and give humanity what they've feared all this time!"

Another cheer waved through the mutants and John swallowed nervously.

"You stand with me now, for our brotherhood will triumph in this battle! WE WILL WIN!"

The cheers grew immensely until it filled the giant room, and John felt his ears ringing.

"As you stand next to me, I warn you, if you hesitate once, you will stand alone. We make no second thoughts! We charge forward with one intent – TO CONQUER!"

John almost scoffed, but kept his mind open as he listened to his leader's speech.

"At six o clock sharp we will rise, and fight! Until then, we remain here, and keep our fortitude conserved. You have finalized your choice to fight alongside me. From this moment on, you are THE BROTHERHOOD!"

Another cheer.

"I have been told, that some of you are being cowardly. And that you wish to abandon this great brotherhood. I say to you, do as you please, but once you leave this base, I will not cease to hunt you down to my death. Once you have pledged to the Brotherhood, you cannot turn back. You have one last chance to come forward, and be forgiven right now. I will spare your life until the end of this fight."

There was a long drawn out silence, and then suddenly John felt like every pair of eyes in the room were staring straight at him, burning through him with a daring provocation. He kept his glances small, but tried to keep a lock on Magneto.

"I will not repeat this warning. And now, return to your quarters. Rest, and be ready for a victory!"

One last cheer echoed off of the walls, and the room slowly emptied as people, some now to anxious to return to sleep, left to go back to bed. John was an inch from the door when he felt a hand on his shoulder. An entire shiver went up his spine and he turned quickly.

"Jumpy, now, are we?" Magneto smiled, "I hope you're not too paranoid to sleep."

"Not at all sir, just excited," John said quickly, trying to return the smile.

"What's this?" the elder man said quickly, grabbing John's wrist out of his grip. It was still bleeding, a little lighter, but John's arm had gone numb and he was becoming dizzy.

"I um —" John froze as Crevan came up behind Magneto, and with a stern stare, walked slowly past him out the door. John watched him closely with a small tingle on the back of his neck.

"I uh — hit it in the door on my way out of my room."

"Really? Just jammed it in the door? Well, have some one bandage that for you, I don't want it getting too bad before we set out. I need you out there, you're one of my best men," he added with another sinister smile.

"I'll take a look at it, I'm on my way to the med room anyway," Crevan brought up suddenly, making John shut his eyes tightly in a silent groan. He came around the door so suddenly even Magneto almost jumped.

"Well, you go along with him, I'll see you soon. Rest up," he said in a joking command, and with that he disappeared down the hall. Crevan gave John a look, and then headed towards the med room a few hallways down. John gave a reluctant whine and follow him, still grasping his wrist, and taking heed not to stumble into the wall too much from his dizziness. They remained silent until they approached the med room and Crevan opened the door.

"Sit."

John sat.

He opened a cabinet and pulled out some bandages. He grabbed John's wrist, a bit roughly, and started dabbing it with disinfectant. John almost pulled his arm back when it began to sting harshly. Then, as though it only took a second, his wrist was bandaged and Crevan was tossing away the discarded remnants.

"Don't expect me to thank you," John snapped immediately as he stood up. Crevan was halfway out with his hand on the doorframe when he stopped.

"Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out," he shot back with an obviously annoyed glance. John felt his teeth grit in fury as he watched the other boy walk out. He grasped his injured wrist, not realizing the fact he was beginning to cut off the circulation.

As he headed back to his room, he regained some of his lost depth perception. His dizziness faded slowly, and he shut his door lightly with a deep breath, leaning against it. He continued to clench his jaw, and then his shoulders shook until his arm flung out and his fist slammed against the hard metal wall. He felt the throb of pain run through immediately and the automatic reaction of a forming bruise. He shut his eyes tightly and grabbed the side of his hand gingerly. He groaned, and then flopped onto his bed hopelessly, holding his head in his hands, running them through his hair back and forth.

Tomorrow the Brotherhood would set out for Washington. The first strike was obviously the president. The X-Men should be there. He hoped they would be.

Because the first chance he got, he was running.

Kari walked down the hallway, John's jacket around her shoulders, a tiny screwdriver in one hand, and a little device in the other. Her head down, she almost bumped into Bobby.

"Hey, Kari," he said cheerfully.

"Oh, hey Bobby."

She looked up for a second, and then walked around him. He raised an eyebrow and watched her retreating back.

"What are you doing?" he asked after a moment's pause, catching up with her.

"Fixing Kurt's _com_device."

"Oh."

They had a small silence as Kari continued to poke around the back of the handheld machine with the miniscule screwdriver.

"Hey, don't forget to meet me and Kitty later, all right?"

"Mmhm, sure," she muttered lightly.

Bobby gave her sort of a sly smile, then scampered off, no doubt to look for Shadowcat. Kari held the computer in one hand and put the screwdriver in her mouth as she skillfully managed to maneuver her arms through the sleeves of the jacket as she walked outside to the courtyard of memorials. She slowly wandered around, picking at the little machine until she put the screwdriver back in her mouth, picked a tiny wire with her fingernail, and with a small electrical shock and a spark, she reconnected it, and screwed the back closed. She flipped it over and switched it on. She gave a smile, and looked up at the pale sky.

She had spent the last ten or so hours wandering around and fixing small things. She had made her way into the garage where Scott was working, and offered to fix a few broken parts out of boredom. She earned a few smiles and laughs from him, which kept her mood up. And in the hallway she had met Kurt, who was muttering under his breath angrily as he attempted to fix his _com_device. She offered to get it repaired, and then she had ended up out here.

She pocketed the _com_device and shoved her hands into the pockets of the jacket, taking in a deep breath of the cold still air. It was dark, but very calm. She heard a rustle, shifted uneasily, and looked around quickly. In the blackness, she could just make out the line of a body, knelt down in the snow. Assuming it had to be some one she knew, she wandered over to it, to calm to feel that afraid. It was only when she heard a metallic noise that she knew it was Logan.

"What are you doing out here, kid?" he asked gruffly.

"I could ask you the same question. You're not the type I would consider sympathetic."

"Hey, don't judge me, I'm not as harsh as you think."

"Oh really? Could have fooled me Mr. 'Kill First and Ask Questions Later'."

"Fine, I get your point."

Kari stood next to his as he let out a deep breath.

"I was just…thinking about Marie."

She nodded her head slowly.

'I didn't mean to disturb you, then."

"Nah, it's all right. I was heading in anyway."

"Oh. Okay then."

She heard him sigh and then she noticed the dim outline of the end of a cigar. It glowed as he took in a breath, and he turned to head back inside.

"Hey, Logan?" she asked suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"I know it's kind of…short notice, but…"

"What?" he asked, pulling the cigar from his lips. She glanced at the dark ground, then back up to where she assumed his eyes were.

"Can I come with you to Washington?"

She heard his rough breathing stop, and then s sharp intake of inquisitive breath.

"Absolutely not. No."

She shrugged and stared at the ground. She turned her back and muttered, "Was worth a shot anyway."

She didn't hear his footsteps as she retreated. She was about ten feet from him when she heard, "Get your uniform ready, we're leaving in six hours."

She stopped and turned quickly.

"You're not there right on cue, I'm leaving you here."

In the dark, she swore she saw him smile as he put the cigar back in his mouth.


	45. Allegiance

Part 44 - Allegiance

Kari made it to Bobby's room just before one o clock. Kitty was already there, (big surprise), and they were talking about something as she came in.

"What too you so long?" Bobby asked. She walked over and sat onto the bed in between the two with a big smile.

"I'm coming with you guys," she said in a joyful tone. They stared at her, and then broke out into smiles.

"Are you serious? They're actually letting you come?"

"Yeah. I just talked to Logan outside and he said I can come, as long as I'm not late," she added the last part while rolling her eyes. The next thing she knew Bobby and Kitty had swamped her with hugs and they were all laughing. Then Kitty sat up with a question.

"But why did you ask to come?"

Kari thought about it.

"I don't know. I just feel like I should be going with you. Like it's wrong if I stay behind."

"All of the other students are," Bobby pointed out nonchalantly.

"Yeah, but they stayed here before. I've always gone with you guys. It doesn't feel right to let you go alone."

"How do you think we felt when you disappeared for four days?" Kitty muttered.

"That was different."

"But how are you going to help, I mean —" Bobby cut himself off almost immediately, but Kari understood what he was implying.

"No, I know. I won't exactly to be able to fight, but I am good at strategies. I could be there to just give you guys instructions. I do know every mutant in the Brotherhood. I know all of their powers, and weaknesses. That's a big help in itself."

"I suppose, but what happens if you get hurt, or Magneto tries to catch you?" he asked.

"For what reason? He already has Crevan. I'm of no use to him anymore. I'm just human."

"True, but —" Bobby stopped himself again and Kitty jumped in.

"We just…don't want you to get lost again."

"I won't. I can promise that."

"But say something does happen?" Bobby interrupted, standing up and gesturing randomly with his hands, "How are you going to protect yourself?"

Kari pondered for a second, then rose to her feet lightly. She grabbed his arms, spun him around, pinned them behind his back and locked him on the ground with her foot. Kitty stared with raised eyebrows. Bobby let out a disgruntled sigh.

"Point taken," he admitted, his voice muffled by the carpet. Kari gave sort a playful smile and released his arms, helping him up. He straightened his shirt and gave her a stern stare.

"I don't want you to leave my sight," he demanded.

"Oh, now you're my master?" she asked with a smirk.

"Kari just — trust me on this."

She glanced sideways at Kitty, who raised her hands along with her eyebrows.

"Bobby, in all honesty, I'm more concerned about you leaving mine."

He let sort of a surprised spark infiltrate his eyes.

"And why's that?"

"I understand you're all mighty with your freezing power here, but you can't just run around turning people into icicles everywhere. You'd be forgetting one highly important detail right there."

"Which is?"

"John," she answered tonelessly.

They saw Kitty give a sort of nod.

"She's got you there, Bobby. If Magneto's still got him running around, he could show you up big time."

"Exactly. You guys, I don't care, fight however you want. I just want to be near you to give you tips. Advice, whatever you call it. I know these mutants, and I can tell you exactly how to beat them. But at the point where John DOES show up —"

"I beat him into a bloody pulp?" Bobby shot in quickly.

"NO," Kari snapped. Bobby made a sort of half growl.

"I go after John," she said flatly.

"And what exactly are you going to do against him? He doesn't care about us anymore, remember? He wouldn't think twice about frying any of us, especially you!" Kitty added.

"Maybe," was her only answer.

"Don't tell me you still think he'll come BACK," Bobby said, almost begging.

"Did you ever give up on me when I left?"

The other two remained silent. Bobby gave Kitty a look, and she felt a pang of guilt run across her stomach.

"Look, I understand that you guys don't want to lose me again, and I'm glad. It makes me feel loved, really," she added as they snickered sarcastically, "But I'd still like you to trust me on this."

"Oh the teenage controversy," Kitty said, shutting her eyes in a giggle.

"Bobby."

He looked up as he raised his eyebrows. She gave him an earnest stare.

"FINE. Fine. But if you die I'll never forgive you."

"Agreed," Kari said with a roll of her eyes.

They spent the next few minutes joking around, and not long after, when they all suddenly realized it was almost two in the morning, they attempted to separate and head for bed. But not long after that they all fell asleep right there.

Bobby awoke hours later with Kitty curled up against his chest and Kari on her stomach across the foot of his bed. He blinked and rolled his body over a bit as he stretched. His eye caught the red glare of his clock for a second.

5:53.

Bobby shut his eyes, and then they snapped open. "SHIT!"

"WHAT!" Kitty screamed, jumping up and falling backwards out of the bed onto her back with a grimace.

"What, what happened?" she asked quickly, getting on her knees so only her head was visible above the bed. Her hair was messed up from her fall.

"We're late, get up, UP!" Bobby barked, throwing open his closet and grabbing his uniform. He was halfway through unzipping his pants before Kitty realized it and looked away quickly.

"BOBBY!"

"Go get ready, we have to be in the hangar before six!"

"Which leaves us…?" Kitty asked, sarcastically.

"SEVEN MINUTES!" he said loudly.

"Oh crap!"

"YEAH! HELLO!" Bobby was in the process of pulling on his uniform when Kari blinked and opened her eyes after a yawn.

"What, what's going on? — OH GOD! BOBBY!" she said suddenly, moving so fast to cover her eyes she tumbled off the bed onto the floor with a thud, the bed covers falling on top of her.

"We have seven minutes to get to the hangar or we're screwed! GET UP!" Bobby barked again. That got her going.

Kari flew from her spot so fast, Bobby hardly noticed until he turned around and saw she wasn't there. It took him a second to realize she had left, only noticing when his door bumped against the wall, falling open. Kitty phased through him and his closet, running through each of the room, beating Kari to the room. Once the other girl came through the door, Kitty was already zipping up the jacket of her uniform. Kari leapt for the closet, pulling out her pants quickly. Within the next minute, they were both dressed and speeding down the hallway, Bobby catching up to them.

"We're not going to make it," he said pitifully, running as fast as he could up to them.

"Oh, yes we are," Kitty said confidently, grabbing them both by their wrists. She phased all three of them through the rest of the mansion, in a straight diagonal line, until they came into the hangar, panting so hard Kari felt like she was getting ready to spit out her lungs.

"Oh, so you decided to show up," Scott said with a smile. He was standing in front of the jet with Logan, Jean, Storm, Kurt, Angel, and to Kari's surprise, Dr. McCoy. She almost collapsed from her lack of steady breathing.

"All right then, let's go," Scott said cheerfully, heading onboard the X-Jet.

The three teenagers staggered onto the craft, flopping into their seats and exhaustedly clasping their seatbelts together. Kari took in a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, and then let it out slowly to get her regular breathing going.

"You sure you don't want us to give you another jacket?" Logan asked. He was sitting in the same row across from her.

"No, but thanks anyway," she answered, calming down. True, she was hardly even wearing a uniform. In fact, it wasn't a uniform at all. She looked like she was wearing her everyday clothes. She wore a pair of dark, slightly baggy camo pants, a white T-shirt and John's jacket. The only thing remaining from her uniform that she wore was her glove for her right hand.

"John, get up."

"I am up."

"I'm referring to the phrase defined as get your ASS out of your BED and get DRESSED. We're leaving."

"Well, I'll start referring to the phrase which is defined as get YOUR ass out of my room before I KICK it out."

Crevan slammed the metal door shut and John pushed himself into a sitting position and swung his legs over the side of his bed, running his hands through his hair over and over again, until he scratched it roughly, making it stick up like he always did. He sighed. He couldn't tell if it was still dark outside, seeing as the base had no windows considering it was underground. He arched his back in a stretch, cracked his fingers, and then slouched forward as a bunch of blood rushed to his head. He shook it off and grabbed his boots, putting them on as slowly as he dared. After he finished, he sat back up and stared at the bandage around his wrist. It felt bruised, and hurt to twist it in any way.

"Perfect," he grumbled, grabbing his shirt and double-checking that his lighter was in his pocket before opening his door reluctantly, and marching down the hallway. He found Crevan, with the feeling of his stomach plummeting, and followed the crowd outside, to his surprise, where Magneto was waiting at the top of a slight incline, to look over the crowd of his followers. To more of his surprise, Crevan gestured for him to follow as they gathered at Magneto's side. Up there, it was Crevan, Arclight, Callisto, Multiple Man, Juggernaut, and himself. The X-Men Clones stood in a line at the front of the crowd. Everyone else was behind, crammed together in the darkness, glancing around as a very faint, pale light began over the horizon.

"Here we stand, my brothers. It is time for us to strike. I expect nothing more than the highest efforts from you all. And now, I march with you, to the victory of all mutant kind!"

He raised his fists in a dramatic pose, and everyone in the crowd mimicked the motion, yelling out cries of admirable quality, pledging their allegiance to the man before them. John's heart thumped in a rapid beat as he glanced over the hundreds of compatriots. He put his hand into his pocket, and then crossed both behind his back. As he kept his head up and his back straight, he slowly slipped a small black glove over his left hand.


	46. Performing Inevitability

Part 45 – Performing Inevitability

"I have a question."

"Yes, Bobby."

"What's the point of leaving at 6 a.m. when it's going to take Magneto probably more than twelve hours to even reach New York?"

"That is a true fact, except we've taken to researching more of Magneto's abilities." Jean looked over her shoulder and Kari gave her a smile.

"And what exactly did that uncover?"

"We found out that Magneto has undoubtedly altered some of the clones' DNA, meaning he's altered their abilities as well. And with Nightcrawler's ability —" Storm began.

"Instead of being able to only teleport a certain amount of mass that I would normally be limited to carrying, he most likely has found a way to teleport mounds of mass at one time, and within a greater maximum perimeter." Kurt finished.

"Huh?" Bobby cocked an eyebrow at Kari.

"Instead of just teleporting himself, the clone can take the entire army as far as he wants without any difficulties. Meaning he could take the entire Brotherhood to Washington in a matter of minutes."

"Shit," Bobby said suddenly.

"That's a big difference that what Kurt can do," Storm added.

"I curse teleportation," Kurt muttered.

"You shouldn't. You're one of the most useful mutants I know. Not to mention you're a nicely added comical relief," Kari said thoughtfully.

"Thank you," Kurt snickered.

"How long until Washington, Jean?" Logan asked.

"We'll be there within a few minutes. We should be there just in time to intercept the Brotherhood."

"Good. I need some exercise," he said sinisterly, extracting his claws. Kari rolled her eyes and Storm looked over her shoulder.

"Are you sure you'll be all right, Kari?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, you just don't have that many advantages over everyone else," Angel admitted.

"Just because I lost my mutant powers doesn't mean all of that training went away too. That was all me, believe it or not."

"Yeah, she schooled Bobby's ass last night," Kitty laughed.

"SHE DID NOT," Bobby argued.

"Besides, since I don't exactly have a uniform, it'll be easy to sneak past a lot of enemies. The Brotherhood doesn't have its own attire really; a quick glance and they'd assume I was one of them. Unless some one like Magneto saw me," she realized quickly.

"Nice plan, I like it," Angel nodded approvingly.

"Besides, my main mission is to give you all cues for their weaknesses. If you need help, yell as loud as you can, I'll get there."

"And John?" Logan asked sarcastically. The jet fell silent.

"Nobody touches him," she said coolly. Logan raised his eyebrows and hid a snicker.

"Magneto will probably take the back route, meaning he can't just appear right in the middle of Washington. The military would be on them too fast. They'll have to walk for a bit, meaning they'll probably head right aside the Appalachians. So it'll be a good hour or two before they reach the capital."

"That's a good enough distance to keep them at bay," Scott jumped in.

"Knowing Magneto, there's got to be more to it than that," Kari interrupted.

"Like?"

"Well, maybe he's intercepting something, a weapon train or…I dunno."

"A weapon train?" Dr. McCoy repeated skeptically.

"Or maybe he has another base there?" Kitty suggested.

"I'm not sure, but be ready to take all precautions. Something like that just seems too easy."

"Well, we're heading down. Welcome to the Appalachians."

Everyone looked out his or her window and watched the ground come up at them as Jean and Storm brought it in for a landing. Once they were level, there was a rumble and a jerk. They had landed. Everyone unbuckled themselves and the ramp was lowered. There was a chorus of uneasy breaths, and everyone exited the jet.

It was cold, to say the least. The sky was pale, the sun just rising, and the air nipped at every exposed piece of skin. Kari zipped up John's jacket and looked around in every direction, before cautiously taking steps around.

It was only five minutes until they heard the distant voices of their opponents.

Kari felt Bobby's arm brush against hers as he automatically came to her side, accompanied by Kitty. The three of them stood there, in front of the adults, waiting for the Brotherhood, and when they came into sight, it was everything Kari had expected, save a few hundred mutants.

They marched in one big mass, with three people leading.

Magneto.

John.

And Crevan.

Kari's stomach plummeted when she saw the demon's face. Her mind flashed, watching the lightning flash as rain pounded against his head, while his eyes stared at her, almost tauntingly. Then, she had a vision of him lunging at her, mouth open in a dog-like snarl, with long serrated fangs. She jumped and blinked a few times.

"Kurt," Bobby muttered under his breath, as the Brotherhood suddenly halted. Nightcrawler's chin jerked, as a small nod of understanding. Magneto gave a small smile, looked over his shoulder, and the mutants bolted, sprinting right at their puny opponent consisting of nine companions.

"NOW!" Kari yelled.

_BAMF!_

Kurt teleported in front of them, and in a series of consecutive portal jumps, he created a giant cloud of blue smoke over the remaining span of space between the charging mutants.

"GO!" Bobby yelled, pushing Kari out of the way behind a nearby boulder. She rolled in a half somersault, and everyone disappeared from sight within the blue sheet. She heard sickening thuds, and the sound of fists meeting enemy flesh. Blows were hit, kicks were delivered, and occasionally some one would roll from the cloud, unconscious, in a trail of navy blue. She let out a deep breath, and glanced around.

John. She had to find — _WHAM!_

She cried out as a fist closed around her throat and slammed her against the boulder.

"God knows how long I've waited for this," Crevan growled with a maniacal grin across his lips. His deep red eyes flashed with an evil Kari had never seen before, and was unaware that her eyes used to show the same glow.

"You…you pathetic little mortal. GOD I'VE HATED YOU FOR SO LONG…and I've been waiting for the day I'd get to splatter your blood across the ground…" He tightened his clawed fingers around her neck, pressing the tips into her skin so hard blood began dripping over his fingertips. Kari almost saw complete ecstasy in his dark eyes. She felt fear taker her over, and then panic. Her mind went into a rush, and she went completely blank, not knowing what to do for the first time. Without Crevan inside to help her, she was only human.

"I'm going to kill you…and I'm going to make it long…and painful…like a bullet wound to the stomach…but ten times worse…probably a hundred…" he grinned psychotically and Kari's passage of breath was cut off. She felt her head throbbing.

"I'm going to kill you…but first I'm going to kill your little boyfriend…and watch you suffer, like I did, all those times you would never…shut up about him…he's finally going to die, and I'm going to make you watch…"

"What —" she choked in terror.

"I'm going to kill him…so slowly…you'll wish you were already dead…I'll cut him open…and watch you try to pitifully endure the horror of it all…I'll listen to him screaming…oh…his screams…" he almost started to giggle and Kari already felt like she did want to die.

"God you're so pitiful…fifteen years I've wanted to kill you…"

Out of the corner of her eyes she saw movement. Crevan was lost in his own depraved thoughts of homicidal tendencies to notice. Kari was seconds from a blackout and she saw John freeze at stare at the two of them.

"CREVAN, LET HER GO!" he cried quickly.

"Stay out of this, Johnny, or you'll die just as fast," Crevan snarled.

"I SAID LET HER GO!" he demanded fearfully, pulling on Crevan's arm to get him away. With a swift movement, the demon knocked him to the ground, sending him sliding about four feet.

"I'm doing your job, Johnny, you should be thanking me," he said casually, continuing to tighten his grip on Kari's throat. His claws were poking so close now that more drops of blood were slowly flowing out. John looked at the ground beside him, then narrowed his eyes and got to his feet. With a swift movement of his boot, he kicked a thick, broken tree branch into his hand. He brought it back, and with a loud _THWACK_ brought it straight across Crevan's face, knocking him backwards into the dirt. Kari slid down the side of the boulder, coughing roughly. John grabbed her arm, and ran.


	47. Old Habits

Part 46 – Old Habits

Crevan was on his back, staring up in shock as John fled. It took him a second to gain the reality of what just happened, and soon his shock was eliminated and instantly replaced with mounds of rage. He flew to his feet and bolted after them.

Kari was too surprised and scared to say anything, or do anything except be half dragged by John. They scrambled over rocks and over the slippery gravel of the hills, with Crevan hot on their tracks. As Kari glanced behind them, she saw him scaling up the rocks with surprising expertise, like a glaring-eyed monster in a dream where you can't run or scream. A dream where all you can do is fear, until it catches you and rips you to pieces. Kari felt the entire body of her body shift uncomfortably as she felt rushes of fear infect her. She saw Crevan snarl like a rabid dog and jump on all fours, climbing after them. John tugged on her arm to run.

She hadn't realized she had frozen in her steps.

"Kari," he said warningly.

She kept her eyes in Crevan, wide and waiting for him to just lunge at her with his murderous intent. She felt his hands around her throat again already.

"Kari," John tugged harder, pulling on the jacket he failed to realize was previously his. Kari felt her eyes burning as Crevan glared into them, hearing the scratching of his own steel-like claws as they pulled him up the rocks.

"KARI!" John screamed in her ear, more scared then he had been yet. She snapped and looked at him. He jerked on her arm again, pulling her a few steps. She finally moved her feet again, and John came to the edge of a boulder. The only was down was to slide. He saw Crevan's struggling hands come over the edge behind them. He leapt and landed on his back, sliding down the cliff-like ridge, still holding onto Kari, who was sliding down behind him. He felt the ground hit his feet in a rush and he scrambled to stand up and Kari tumbled onto the ground beside him. He saw a shadow on the ground, for a second mistaking it for his, until he realized it was growing.

Kari looked up. Crevan had leapt from above, and was coming right down on them, eyes flaring with more fury than she had ever known existed. John grabbed the collar of the jacket and pulled on it, half choking her and dragging her to keep running.

Bad dream…it's all just a bad dream…please tell me it is… 

He heard his attacker's footsteps merely meters behind them until they stopped, and another shadow appeared again.

"Shit," John whined fearfully, looking up without hesitation and turning left, running into another dead end.

"We're dead," Kari gasped, turning around quickly.

"Jump," John demanded, taking a step back over the edge. Crevan was nowhere to be seen. He had completely disappeared, and Kari's heart was ready to pound right out of her chest.

"Jump?" she repeated in a psychotic tone.

"JUMP!" John snapped again.

"Are you insane! That's bigger than a fifty foot drop!"

"That never stopped you before," John growled coldly. Kari felt hurt for a moment when she realized the attack on the building incident.

Then came the sound of claw on rock.

"GO!" John demanded. Crevan's face became visible as he reached them, finally standing upright, with the most terrifying glare. His teeth had become long serrated fangs, and his back was arched slightly, like a newly transformed werewolf, ready to feed on its first prey. His breath was ragged and anxious. His chest was heaving, and he advanced on them, flexing his fingers outward with his inch long talons.

Without another moment to spare, Kari found her arm being jerked back as John lunged off the side of ridge, taking her with him just as he saw a shadow above. Embracing the fact this was a foolish move and Crevan was undoubtedly a great enough lunatic at the moment to follow them anyway, he held his arms around Kari, as though sheltering her. She curled up as tightly as she could, shutting her eyes tightly. The ground wasn't even twenty feet away.

Then, there was a snatch at his back, and a pair of hand went around his chest. There was a grunt, and the momentum stopped. John snapped his eyes open and saw the ground come very slowly, and he was dropped with a _thud_ on top of Kari. He rolled onto his back and saw a pair of half-friendly eyes looking down upon him.

"Warren?" Kari said, dumbstruck.

"Like I'd let you die a fourth time," he said skeptically. There was a split second of grateful glances, and then something slammed into Angel, knocking him to the side in a flurry of feathers and screams. Crevan leapt from the man right at Kari, landing on her so hard the breath was knock out of her.

"NO!" John yelled, jumping onto the demon's back with every realization he had a death wish. Something slashed across his chest as Crevan turned on him, tackling him to the ground, and then kicking off to get back at the girl. He was like an angry bear, tearing everything apart. Kari screamed as claws cut flesh, and she was thrown against a rock. Crevan rose to his feet and she scrambled to get away, slipping across the bits of gravel. Her hands skidded across the dirt, but she managed to slip away as Crevan leapt again, gaining nothing but the crack of his skull against a giant stone. He howled in fury and shook it off, turning, his eyes like giant pools of blood. He leapt again and Warren interceded, grabbing Kari around her waist and lifting her into the air with difficulty. One of wings had been partially cut, and it was apparently hard for him to keep balance. He slipped his arms under Kari's to hold her steady as he rose above the hills. He watched Crevan carefully.

The lunatic was making his way up the rocks, trying to get high enough to reach them. As the man tried to carry his companion further up, to his dismay, his enemy was still close by. His wing faltered and he halted for a second, unfortunately giving Crevan just enough time to reach them. He came to the top of a ridge and flew, clawed fingers outstretched like a pouncing cat. Warren turned and made it up a few more feet, before Crevan landed on his back, hissing and snarling.

Back with the Brotherhood, Bobby was watching in complete oblivion. He had watched Warren take off for no reason, and as his eyes followed, just a few yards off his saw the man holding who he believed to be Kari. Though the situation wasn't completely known to him, he could do nothing but watch. Himself and Kitty had his among a few rocks after backing out of the right, looking for their friend. And now he was watching as a living nightmare attempted to rip them both apart.

"Bobby," Kitty tried.

"Let's go," he demanded.

"But Bobby!"

"WATCH OUT!" some one cried.

A shockwave, no doubt from Arclight, went through the battle and a hill shattered, causing first a few, then one giant rockslide.

"SHIT!" Logan yelled.

"JEAN, BOBBY!" Storm yelled.

Bobby emerged with a pissed off yell and Jean appeared near him. As she tried to slow down the rocks, he shot his hands forward, creating an ice barrier as fast as his power would allow, trying to fight the distraction of Kari, still struggling up in the sky.

Warren was veering to the side, leaning and falling as Crevan tried to bring him down. He screamed as there was a _crunch_ and fang sank into shoulder. His hands dropped Kari, and she rolled onto a hill, and began to tumble down it, her only defense to curl into a ball. She rolled and tumbled, sometimes her feet getting caught and she was pushed upright, only to fall on her face. She went probably more than a hundred feet until she came to flat ground where John caught her. She coughed and spit out bits of dirt, wiping her face, seeing blood smeared on the back of her hand. John put his arms under hers and pulled her too her feet. There was a scream from up above, and Warren came spiraling down, bouncing off the walls of the canyon like a pinball. He landed on his back, on top of Crevan, with another _crunch_ and then rolled off, landing face first into the dirt across the way in a flurry of dust and bloodstained feathers. Crevan was still for a moment, and for a second Kari thought Warren had crushed him to death, until his arm jerked and he pushed himself off.

The X-Man's wings were shattered, bent in the wrong places. They were bloody in some spots as well, and Crevan had torn apart his back with everything he had. Warren made no sound. Kari stared blankly in shock and Crevan got to his feet, wiping Warren's blood from his own mouth. He shook his hand off and in the most horrifying manner, licked his lips, acting like an alpha wolf who had just made a kill, curling his teeth back in a snarl at the opposing pack which had tried to take it from him. John was already fingering his lighter cautiously in his pocket.

Then suddenly, there was a loud rumble, screams, and then silence. Over across the hill they saw dust rising, and John gave Kari a worried look. Crevan saw his chance. But instead of lunging to attack, he just stepped to the side, slowly cornering them. They hadn't realized the wall behind them curved around in a dead end. But Kari made a point of motioning to John once she looked behind her. Crevan paced back and forth, zigzagging slowly, keeping his blood red eyes on them like a stalking cat. It was so crazy how much he was like a rabid animal at that moment, blood drying slowly around his mouth, claws dripping, eyes glaring intensely.

"You're like vermin, the two of you…" he snickered maliciously, "Unwelcome, so hard to catch…so AGITATING…" He snapped the last word with such irritation it actually made Kari feel like a little girl being scolded by a parent. She shrank back slowly. The two of them backed up as Crevan kept coming.

"And now…it's the end of the line…I've chased you, followed you into the mouse hole…and now there's nowhere to go…"

"Crevan —" Kari started.

"DON'T EVEN THINK FOR ONE SECOND THAT YOU CAN BEG FOR YOUR LIFE," he snarled, making her recoil again. "You kept me for fifteen years in that hell. If there were a way to bring you back after I kill you, I'd take it, just to kill you again. I'd kill you fifteen times over, just to make you GLIMPSE the hell you kept me in."

John stepped in front of her, making her look up in confusion.

"You touch her and I'll burn you right into another hell," he said angrily.

"And you…god…you are such an ignorant little bastard, I wish you could have seen yourself in my view. Just for once watch yourself from another perspective. Then you'd see the whiny little bastard you really are. You'd want to kill yourself as well."

"I might be arrogant. Sure I whine. I complain. I say my life sucks. I say MY life's hell. But you know what? It's better than being a little self-absorbed, vengeful little puppy that spends his time looking for any position of power he can just to get revenge on ONE teenager. You are one SAD PATHETIC ASSHOLE."

Crevan made some sort of movement, as though John could see the anger flooding into him at that moment.

"When I'm ripping your limbs off one by one, you might decide to rethink that statement," he growled, "And then you might wish you hadn't so you wouldn't have to watch her die as well."

"You lay one finger on her, I'll fuck you up so fast you'll be pissing your pants into next week."

"Speak for yourself, Zippo," he snickered tauntingly, "God the sound of your screams are going to be like steady music."

In a flash Crevan shot from his spot right up to John's face. Kari almost screamed right then and John just narrowed his eyes, backing up and grabbing her arm. Crevan's claws went around his neck this time.

"I'll play with you a little bit before I kill you, though," he said casually, throwing him into the wall. But John didn't give up. As Crevan went to grab Kari, there was a flash of heat and he was pushed back. John flicked his lighter shut and got to his feet, walking in front of her again. Crevan curled back his lips in an angry grimace again. He grabbed the middle of the younger boy's arm and flung him all the way across the bottom of the canyon, almost to where Warren still lay, unidentifiable as dead or not. He hit the wall and fell into the dirt in a cloud of dirt. The demon walked over and looked down as John lay face down, trying to push himself up.

"I don't understand why you do it, Johnny. Do you even know how many times she thought of killing you?" He grabbed John by his hair and slammed him up against the wall.

"She hated you so much. She probably still hates you. But I couldn't tell you that." He threw him against the opposite wall. "I only lived inside of her for fifteen years. Some months of which I was forced to listen to her think about you."

_SLAM._

"Constantly, and constantly. Until YOU decided to leave —"

_SLAM._

"— and I listened to her yell at herself —"

_SLAM._

"— about how she wanted to kill you, how she hated your guts and she wished your existence never happened."

John slid across the ground in a yell and rolled onto his side, curling up to shield his stomach.

"I don't know John, you tell me if she still hates you. In my opinion —"

Crevan stepped up beside him and stared down at him. He looked up with half open eyes, his mouth shut tight in the attempt not to moan in pain. He shut his eyes tightly, and let out a breath with great effort.

"— Old habits die hard."


	48. Aggravation

Part 47 - Aggravation

John, still curled up on the ground, stopped breathing as Crevan's words rang in his ears. _Old habits die hard._ He repeated them to himself in his head, until they started echoing with a brainwashing truth.

"It's an honest to God shame that some one with a power as great as yours has to be so UTTERLY pathetic." Crevan looked up from John and then to Kari. "And you. You are even worse. No matter how much you tell yourself you despise his existence, you CONSTANTLY run after him. What the hell IS that, honestly?"

Kari stared, rooted to the spot she stood upon, not daring to even move. She didn't give a reply either.

"Answer me. No, seriously, I'd like an answer."

She let her eyes travel from Crevan's, to John on the ground, then back to Crevan.

"Why are you so persistent to find a guy who by definition is NO ONE and that you hate?"

"I —"

Kari's words failed her. She had no answer whatsoever, and her mind went blank after shorting out from a search overload. Crevan looked down at John and shrugged lightly, more like a jerk of his shoulders, walking over to the other side of him. Glancing up at Kari he kicked John in the back, making him roll over twice and end up face down, coughing. As the demon began advancing on Kari, he suddenly spoke.

"Get…away from her…"

Crevan stopped short and froze from the sound of John's voice. In complete shock, he turned his head and watched the teenager struggle for moment, pushing himself onto his knees in pain, and eventually getting to his feet with a groan. He raised his head and swallowed nervously, spitting out a mouthful of dirt.

"I said get away from her."

"What is it with you two, HONESTLY?" Crevan sighed, his arms slightly sagging from disbelief.

"She may hate me, you're right. And I hate her back. But not for the reason you think. "

"You hate her because she tried to kill you. Over three times," Crevan stated flatly.

"No she didn't."

Kari raised her eyebrows, intrigued by his sudden outburst.

"That was you," he said in an exhausted tone. Crevan was taken aback for a moment.

"And how did you determine that?"

"After years of being alone, it gets easy to read people. I could blame her for trying and wanting to kill me, but I'd be lying to myself. Reading her as she had me up against the wall, pushing me off the roof, jumping at the helicopter. That was all you. I could tell just by how her eyes changed. She was always somewhere back there, screaming for it to stop."

"Oh really?" Crevan snickered.

John shrugged with a smirk. "Then again, it's just a theory."

Crevan rolled his eyes.

"But even if it is, every great scientist knows theories can be proven. But I doubt this one could. My whole idea could be wrong, it could have been her. God knows how much we've hated each other. And I still hate her."

John made his way over to them slowly, grasping his arm for what seemed like it could be broken.

"But that's no reason to call her a murderer. Because she isn't. I hate her for my own reasons. Reasons I wouldn't expect YOU to know." John was almost pressing himself against Crevan now, the demon surprised by the fact his instincts hadn't told him to kill the boy, instead letting him stand there looking down at him with partially raised eyebrows. "And you don't know, because you ARE an emotionless bastard. A self-centered, emotionless bastard who makes himself believe things that aren't true."

"Then why do you protect her if you DO hate her?"

"One simple reason."

John gave another smirk and made a taunting expression that Kari could only admire at that moment.

"Because it pisses you off."

Kari could only admire the teenager in front of her for his next action. It seemed almost flawless as she watched. He was injured like she had never seen before, and she didn't even fathom the pain she knew he was feeling throughout his body, but she watched, breathless, as John spun and kicked Crevan square in the side of his head, steadying himself with panting breath as he watched the demon hit the ground.


	49. Finally Released

Part 48 – Finally Released

Kitty peeked her head over the rubble, phasing through the rest of it and pulling her body up to the top.

"Bobby? BOBBY!" she called, coughing from the dust as she made herself solid and it flew into her lungs. She saw a bunch of jerking rocks, then an emerging hand, and a muffled cry. She stepped over the jagged stones, slipping a bit and then made her way down to her comrade. Soon, she was helping him phase through the fallen rocks. He wiped dirt from his face and spit out a mouthful of grainy soil. Him and Jean were unable to stop the rockslide, and it had tumbled over everyone. Him and Kitty had no idea who had managed to survive, until the heard a _bamf_.

Kurt appeared beside them, panting and patting dirt from his black hair. "Are you two all right?"

"Yeah, but there's no sign of Kari or John anywhere," Kitty said at once.

"No time for that, we got trouble," said a voice. Logan was quickly pulling himself from under a pile of large rocks. He moved, and his whole body jerked before he realized his boot was caught under a boulder. He growled, there was a _shink_ of adamantium, and the boulder broke apart. He got up, dusting himself off. "Get everyone you can find, leave any of the Brotherhood."

They heard a dull noise of a helicopter blade and soon, jets flew over them without warning, scaring Bobby out of his mind. He jumped and cried out, and Kitty jumped due to his response.

"The military's caught up. Quick, we gotta run for it," Logan urged, motioning for them to help get other up as he dug through the rubble.

"But John — " Bobby started.

"I could give less than a rat's ass about that kid," Logan interrupted, standing up straight and giving Bobby a stern glare.

"But Kari's with him," Kurt insisted as well. Logan gave a frustrated sigh.

"FINE," he growled, "Gather everyone up and we'll go after them. I guess we can't just leave her here for the government to catch."

Bobby and Kitty gave silent sighs of relief and scampered over the fallen rocks to help their comrades.

* * *

The military hadn't only passed over the X-Men. Some helicopters were already descending near where John was running, and he was frantically trying to devise a new escape route. 

"John, what the hell is going on with you! And what the hell is up with CREVAN!"

"TALK LATER! MOVE YOUR ASS NOW!" John shouted angrily back as they saw more black helicopters advancing around them. They seemed to be marking a perimeter of the area. Kari looked up as a jet flew over them, then grabbed the back of John's shirt, half choking him, and throwing him into the shelter of a tiny rocky overpass. They were out of sight, for now.

"JOHN!" she demanded, panting with angry breath.

"God, even when we were friends, you never shut up," he snapped, slapping her hands from his collar.

"We were never friends," she shot back instantly. He was silent, as though taken aback, and he watched her intensely stern expression.

"You hate me, don't you?" she asked after a moment, not changing her look.

John had turned his head from her and was looking around the corner of the overpass. He looked at the ground.

"John. You hate me don't you?" she repeated. When he didn't reply, she continued.

"If you hate me, why did you save me from Crevan?"

"Because I hate him more than I hate you," he said instantly, "It was a matter who would be more pissed off."

"But he _is_ me," she corrected.

"No, he's not."

"Yes, he is."

"Crevan is cold-hearted and merciless. I hate him because all he cares about is power."

"How do you know I'm not the same without him?"

"Because you're worse than he is," John shot back angrily, jerking his head to glare at her. She stared at him, her stern expression softening slightly, as though she had just been pierced with a dagger.

"You, are sarcastic, heartless, and completely misunderstanding. You take it all too seriously, you make a big deal out of EVERYTHING. You — you take advantage of peoples' feeling, then you throw it back in their faces, you play with their emotions, and you never care for anyone but yourself. You ACT like you care about Bobby and Kitty, you act like you love them, but all you care about is finding some one who wants to kill you so bad it hurts him! You don't even care if everyone else exists, as long as you can track him down! AND FOR WHAT REASON? I hate you SO much, you drive me insane I just want to kill you! I want to kill you so badly, sometimes it's all I can think about! YOU ARE A HYPOCRITICAL, MORONIC, HEARTLESS LITTLE GIRL AND _ALL I CAN DO IS HATE YOU!_"

As he ranted, Kari felt her heart twitch through every sentence. She felt pangs of guilt and sorrow as he screamed all of this. And as he reached the last note of his sermon, she had to shut her eyes to keep her stinging tears at bay. She felt so angry with him at that moment she opened her mouth to protest in her her fury. "John —"

"Just shut up," he said exhaustedly. And then before she knew it, she had his hand on the back of her head, pushing her lips against his.

As she felt this action take place, she suddenly felt like she was in a dream she had sometime before. Like _deja vu_ or something along the lines of that. All she did was sit there on her knees, unable to reply to what he was doing. She wanted to kiss him back, and pull away questionably at the same time. Her mind started leaning more towards the idea of kissing him back, because somehow, she thought to herself, it seemed like this had been what she was searching for. She wasn't looking for the traitor to her own kind, she had been looking for a boy she realized she now loved, and hadn't been able to admit it until that moment. Her tears fought as hard as they could to release themselves, and yet they failed, despite the fact her eyes were wide open in shock. Her entire body became unknown to her, only his lips. His kiss on her mouth, and she finally closed her eyes.

As John moved back, his forehead fell onto her shoulder as she sat there on her knees, now again staring ahead in awe, unable to move her eyes in any direction as her body froze. She felt his breath on the side of her neck, and then somehow, she knew he was crying.

"Hating you is the most exhausting thing I've ever done in my life," he whispered, his hand falling from the back of her head to the other side of her neck, "Please don't make me do it anymore."


	50. Time

Part 49 - Time

Kari continued to sit there with John leaning his forehead against her shoulder, his hand lightly placed on the side of her neck. She was still staring forward in silence, unable to think of any reply, honest or sarcastic.

_("Please don't make me do it anymore")…_

Everything, every noise, every breath, every heartbeat, seemed to fade, and then all at once, everything came rushing past her eyes.

_("You are SO arrogant, you know that?")_

_("I'm tired of you talking crap about me all the time!")_

_("I'd like a little respect from you, at least. You drive me insane with your stupid 'vocabulary' and you're always looking for a way to piss me off!")_

Screaming. Anger.

_("Why don't you let go of your stupid EGO for once and just be YOURSELF?")_

Hurt. The pang of guilt.

_("A virus…")_

Widening eyes.

_("The virus is called the Anti-X virus.")_

_("Foxfire…")_

A smile and the first feeling of happiness.

Rapid movement. A room spinning. John struggling in a pair of hands.

Her hands.

Fear.

So much fear.

Running.

Screaming.

A rooftop.

_("John!")_

Fire everywhere.

An opening door.

A scream.

Piercing eyes.

John's eyes.

His body rushing at her. She was running.

They collided.

Out of a helicopter, into the water.

No air.

Pressure on her chest.

It moved to her back.

_("Kari!")_

Screaming.

Terrifying scream. John rushing to grab her.

Glowing red eyes.

_("I'm on the outside looking in.")_

Like a mirror. A vision blurring and morphing.

_("Crevan?")_

Morphing into a glaring, malicious face.

The nightmare of a creature scaling rock.

White wings. Blood.

_("Because it pisses you off.")_

Another scream.

_("John!")_

Fearful eyes.

And then…

_("Please don't make me do it anymore.")…_

This was all a flash, like flipping through television channels one after the other, until they were reeling like a video recording on fast-forward. The voices echoing like a badly tuned radio.

Then all at once it went blank, and fell deadly silent. Her ears rang loudly and reality sank in, taking its careful time, as though seconds were twice as long as hours. It took her several moments to realize her chest was heaving, almost in panic, and her eyes were stinging like some one had thrown sand in her face. Some one was trembling. There was a body against her. Then at last, she swallowed slowly, nervously, and dryly. It had all narrowed down. Everything she had sacrificed, and for what? She still didn't know.

In the back of her head, something was buzzing. A little tingle of a feeling, and then she finally felt her own body again, and the warmth of John's hand on her neck. She felt a warm drop of something, and raised her hand up to the back of John's head, placing her fingers around his hair. He was crying into her shoulder, and she couldn't figure out why. She felt so clueless. She felt his breath break on her neck as he continuously tried to calm himself.

"Please…I'm through with hating you…I'm sick of it…"

He raised his head, his face brushing against her cheek as he leveled his eyes to hers.

"All this time I've been wondering why it hurt so much," he whispered, seeming as though he wished to laugh at himself. His head dropped forward and their foreheads met. Kari suddenly found herself wanting to mimic his wish of laughter towards herself.

"I would always think of what I'd do when I saw you again…and I hated you so much during those times, and I'd think about how angry I was…and I always wondering why it hurt so bad to think about you, until I realized it's not what I wanted…I didn't want to hate you…"

He lifted his head and they locked eyes again, this time Kari was more aware of the position of his eyes than anything. She watched the detail of every spec in his eyes. How the colors blended, and how his eyes spoke more than his voice. And at the same time, as he said his next words, his eyes said them more clearly.

"I wanted to love you."

She felt a sharp intake of breath as her whole body stopped functioning.

"The reason I felt like I should hate you was because I wanted to deny it. I had gone through all of this crap in my life, I just wanted to hide myself, and then you came along, then all of the sudden I wanted to open myself up, but I was already locked away so tightly I couldn't. So I was just left to deny myself of what I wanted…"

"John…"

"What?"

"Stop reading my mind," she demanded, laughing to herself finally. He joined the quiet snickering, until they both let out light breaths and fell silent.

"You picked a hell of a moment to have an epiphany," she said quietly.

"Why's that?" he asked sarcastically.

"Well, I'm human now."

He paused. "So, that makes a difference how?"

"Well, I figured with your current personality, you _would_ want to kill me, via Zippo lighter."

"Trust you to use big words to ruin a moment," John snickered, pulling her forward again. As their lips met this time, Kari finally let her mind loose, feeling that she had finally found the John she had been wanting all this time. Somehow she felt like she would miss the old John, maybe they would be able to coexist. Who knows? She became so comfortable with the feeling of his hands in her hair, his mouth over hers, that she decided to forget all conflict and just kiss him. That was her new goal, and she liked it.

_Just kiss him._

* * *

"I don't know, I just saw them run that way," Kitty insisted. They had managed to round up all of the X-Men, though slightly battered, still in fair shape. 

"Okay. We find Kari and Warren and then look for Magneto. We have to catch him before he catches the President. Most of the Brotherhood looked taken out, but that doesn't mean HE didn't get away," Scott added.

"Well, let's get going, they don't look too happy," Bobby motioned at the helicopters circling the area and descending. Everyone nodded in agreement and ran to find their partners. The military swarmed the area not a moment after.

* * *

"They're over here, I just saw them!" 

"I thought they went that way!"

"Well split up and find them, you idiots, we can't waist time!"

"You four there, you three, follow me!"

"John!"

He turned his head quickly. Kari motioned fast and he followed after her around the other side of the overpass they had hidden near. The soldiers had finally reached the area, and were everywhere. The two teenagers could hardly find a place to run.

"Here!" John urged in a whispered, pulling her down a small incline of gravel. Around them was mostly flat, a few boulders here and there, and a border of a plateau from where they had just been. Kari hoped Bobby and Kitty would be after them. They could sure use the help. She still wasn't sure if Warren had made it. And where had Crevan gone to? He hadn't followed them. She begged he wasn't sneaking around another way to get to them.

"THERE! I SEE TWO OF THEM!"

"SHIT!" John yelled, grabbing Kari's arm and throwing them both behind the shelter of a rock as gunfire scattered around them. They heard the sound of them hitting the dirt near them over the banging as they left the barrels.

Three soldiers were atop the border of the plateau, a few yards away, firing at them. John peeked around the corner, then cried out and jumped back, hitting Kari as one aimed for his head, missing by not even an inch. He let out a shocked breath and Kari got a sudden feeling of panic. It was a time like this she could use Crevan to fight, but he was more likely to fight her than the soldiers at this point. She got a sudden idea as John looked over the side of the boulder again, then moved his head back for shelter.

As he took in a panicked breath, he yelped suddenly as something crept into his pocket. He had already jumped before he realized Kari was digging around for his lighter.

"What the hell was that for?" he asked quickly as she tossed it in front of his face. He caught it, confused, and then with a sly smile, she bolted.

"KARI!" he screamed.

She had a small spark of strategy in barely half a second. She mapped out the coordinates of the boulders in her mind quickly, and then the plan had already created itself.

"SHOOT BACK!" she yelled at John as she sprinted for the nearest boulder.

"WHAT!"

"DO IT!" she ordered as gunshots fired into the dirt.

"GOD, I HATE YOU SO MUCH!" John yelled back angrily, moving around the boulder with a frustrated growl.

"I know!" she flashed a sneaky smile before tumbling behind the huge rock. John flicked open his lighter, and the next thing one of the soldier's knew, he was on the ground, uniform smoldering.

"We have to move towards them!"

"Are you crazy!"

"We determined this when I met you, John!" she shouted, scaling the rock and leaping from it to hide behind the rock in front of her. A bullet barely missed her arm. John leapt from behind his shelter and ran to the one across from her right.

After much zigzagging and complicated geometrical instructions from Kari, he made it to the base of the plateau, and found an incline to crawl back up. They made it to the top, and with a quick glance around, let out a relieved breath. Not a soldier in sight. Yet.

They looked around one more time, and then snuck around a few structures of rock. They needed to get back to the X-Men, and then get away from here.

* * *

"Do you see them anywhere?" Jean asked. 

"No. Not a damn thing," Logan grumbled.

"Well keep looking," Bobby said, then slapped a hand over his mouth as Logan glared at him. "Sorry."

"Watch your mouth boy, or I'll cut it off," Logan growled.

"Oh, hush," Jean said, smacking his arm warningly. "I can do a lot more to the both of you. We work together, got it? We're here to find Kari and Warren, not bicker."

"What happens if we find John?" Kitty asked.

"John's on his own," Bobby answered simply, climbing up a boulder, then crouching atop it to look around, but trying to keep out of sight.

"I SEE THEM!" he exclaimed, "Just a few yards that way! Come on!"

He leapt from the boulder and bolted for his friend, the X-Men trailing behind him.

* * *

"I have a bad feeling about this," Kari said quietly. Everything seemed too still. She could hear gunshots off in the distance, but none around them. Until she did hear something. 

The crackle of a radio. She froze. "I FOUND TWO OF THEM!" a soldier bellowed, raising his gun right at John.

"NO!"

"JOHN!"

She jumped.

Everything went in slow motion, and the bullet flew as the soldier pulled the trigger.

Blood went.

And John's heart stopped.


	51. Left Behind

Part 50 – Left Behind

**Author: Okay, I am very aware of the fact that after you finish reading this note, if you even decided to, that you will probably want to hunt me down for this chapter. It's short, and probably anger inducing, but I dunno why I decided to write it, maybe I'm just a fan of irony. So, hey. It's my fiftieth chapter, SOMETHING had to happen, so yeah. I am very happy that you all decided to read my fanfiction, there's probably going to be a lot more chapters still, but nonetheless, thank you all. I guess this isn't exactly much of a thank you present...;...but anyway. I love you all, and thank you so much, here's my fiftieth chapter of _Think Twice._**

* * *

Everyone stared in complete shock, even the soldier. Bobby had come out of nowhere, and was now flying through the air with an indescribable expression, and a bullet through his uniform.

"BOBBY!" screamed.

Watching everything, practically frame by frame, Kari stared in horror as her friend flew through the air, then slammed into the dirt, rolling at least three times and finally stopping on his stomach without one more moment of movement. John couldn't breathe.

The soldier, not exactly having the same sympathetic reaction as Bobby's friends, raised the gun again, only to be caught in the side of the head by a very angry girl's foot.

Kari's.

The soldier was sent a few feet sideways before getting kicked again, then kneed in the stomach so hard he was almost lifted into the air. A shock even to Kari, seeing as in full uniform, this man had to weigh over two hundred pounds. He slumped over and Kari caught him under the chin with a punch, and then swung around, slamming the side of her boot right into the side of his skull.

He careened off to the side, then fell into the dirt, gun sliding off a few feet, and Kari stood there with her fists clenched and teeth gritting. She never wanted to kill something so bad in her life. It was almost equivalent to the time she met Toad at Alkali Lake.

Kitty came out of nowhere and ran to Bobby, who was still face down in a mix of blood and dust. She rolled him over, not getting any response. Kari looked up and saw the rest of the X-Men advancing towards them with half sullen expression. John was still standing a few feet away, speechless and in more shock than he had ever been. After all this time, it had been Bobby to take the bullet? It made no sense.

"No, no, he can't be dead. Bobby this isn't funny, wake up!" Kitty was rambling, trying to shake Bobby awake. Kari stood beside her, and finally knelt down at his side. She reached for Bobby's jacket and Kitty grabbed her hand in a blink.

"It's fine, trust me," Kari insisted. Her friend slowly let go and Kari unzipped Bobby's jacket, pulling it open and finding nothing but a blood stained T-shirt over an unmoving chest.

"Oh god. No, Bobby wake up, you're not being funny —"

"Kitty —"

"GET UP, BOBBY!" Kitty screamed, making Kari stop.

"Kitty, stop screaming, it hurts my head…"

Everyone froze and Bobby opened his eyes. They looked cloudy and tired. He coughed, and his chest jerked violently.

"Oh, thank God," Kitty practically cried.

"What were you thinking, jumping in front of the gun like that!" Kari asked.

"Because…I knew if John got shot…I'd never hear the end of it," Bobby half laughed. Kari gave an uneasy smile and John didn't say anything.

"Is he really okay?" Kurt whispered to Scott.

"These uniforms aren't meant to be bulletproof, I doubt he has much longer," Scott answered reluctantly under his breath.

"I can't —" Bobby coughed and shut his eyes tightly.

"Bobby —" Kitty said worriedly.

"I can't feel my legs," he groaned.

"You're fine, we're going to take you back to the jet, and you'll be fine, I promise,"

"No, no. I'm all right," Bobby added, turning his head to look at John, who was staring at him as though he were about to turn and run for it.

"If you die, I'll kick your ass when you get to hell," Bobby said, twitching his hand and pointing a finger at him. John started breathing erratically as though he was close to crying.

"Why did you do that?" he asked in a half choking voice.

"Don't die," Bobby repeated, turning his head after and looking at Kitty, who couldn't block her river of tears from streaming down her face.

"Bobby," she said, grabbing his hand as he laughed a little.

"You guys can't die either. Especially you," he added, looking at Kari, "Just because you didn't die the last three times doesn't mean you won't the next."

Kari felt her own tears coming, but simply nodded and managed a smile.

"And just, don't do anything stupid…"

Kari nodded again and Bobby turned back to Kitty, who looked like she was struggling so hard to not just start screaming.

"Sssh, I'm fine," he reassured, putting his hand around hers as she held her breath.

All of the adults exchanged glances, and Kari looked up at John, who swallowed dryly, and then ran both of his hands through his hair before bringing them down and covering his mouth. He then dropped them and let out a broken breath, then turning to the side, he looked away as Bobby shut his eyes tightly, and Kitty felt his hand drop onto the ground.


	52. Energy

Part 51 - Energy

Only three left.

That's what Kari kept thinking as they walked, staring at the ground blankly, watching their own shuffling feet.

Out of the "original five", she had called them, there were only three left. Her, John, and Kitty. Once long ago, they had all sat upon the bleachers just outside the school, laughing and enjoying a good time.

A few months later, John was traitor, and Bobby and Rogue had been murdered. And Kari was no longer a mutant. A she imagined herself sitting on the bleachers with all of her friends, back when Bobby and Rogue were together, Kitty was a hyperactive little girl, and John was as anti-social as ever, she couldn't help thinking, _Little did we know._

She looked over and saw John fiddling with his left hand. Looking closer, she saw he was playing with a small black glove. She looked at her hand, and then back at his, noticing it was her missing glove.

"You kept it," she said out of the blue, looking back at the ground. He snapped his head up, as though some one had come up behind him and screamed in his ear. He looked down at the glove and dropped both hands at his sides.

"Yeah, I did," he said simply. He looked ahead, and Kari caught that he was trying to avoid eye contact.

They were trying to find their way back to the X-Jet after physically having to drag Kitty away from Bobby as he lay there. They were now pretty much walking in complete silence, and Kitty was in front with Storm's hands comfortingly set on her shoulders to keep her steady as she walked. Kari and John lagged behind, dragging their feet. Kari felt the need to keep near him, and he felt the need to keep away from the rest of the group.

It was not long before John went to the resort of pulling out his lighter, and flicking the top back and forth to keep himself calm. Soon Kari was walking in step with the clicks, a slow pace, but it kept her mind focused. On what, she wasn't sure, but it kept her from thinking about anything else.

"There it is!" Scott announced. Everyone exchanged glances for a split second and continued towards the jet.

"LOGAN!" some one called. Everyone looked around before Storm pointed up, and Kari nearly leapt for joy. Warren came gliding down, slightly unsteadily, but he made it nonetheless. His wings were bloody, and some feathers were missing. The rest of his body was bruised, and he looked pale, but that didn't stop Kari from running and throwing her arms around him. He staggered for a moment and then steadied himself, returning the hug before letting her go.

"What happened to you?" Jean asked.

"Long story," Warren answered with an exhausted breath.

"What happened to Crevan?" John asked immediately, making everyone fall silent. Warren looked at him, almost reluctantly.

"I don't know. After you two ran off I never saw him again. He knocked me unconscious."

"So he could still be around?" Kari asked quickly.

"Meaning we should get on the jet and head for Washington," Scott translated, motioning for everyone to board. There was a murmur of agreement among everyone, and they all moved onto the jet. It took Kari a few seconds to realize John was still standing outside. She stood on the ramp and looked back at him. He pulled Kari's glove off of his hand, walked up to her, and put it in her hand. She stared at him.

"You guys go to Washington, I'll try to keep these guys here as long as I can."

"John —"

"How long is it going to take for you to realize you can't argue with me?" he asked, turning around and walking down the ramp. He didn't realize Kari had followed him until he turned back around and saw her face not even a foot away.

"How long is it going to take for YOU to realize you can't just walk away every time?" she shot back. She grabbed his hand and put the glove back over his fingers.

"You told me you wanted to stop hating me," she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"You're making me right now."

"Explain that," she said simply, crossing her arms.

"Look, I just want to make sure that Magneto and Crevan don't get to you right away. If you stall that, and I can't keep them behind, then I'll hate you for getting yourself killed."

"You don't know that," she interrupted. She stared skeptically as John grabbed her arm and walked with her back up the ramp, stopping right in front of the entrance.

"I know you aren't exactly one of…'us'…anymore, but that doesn't change the fact Magneto has no reason to come after you. Not to mention Crevan. If he is still out there, I want to know where so I know that he's nowhere near you."

"I don't want him to catch up with you either, what makes you think he won't kill YOU as well?" Kari shot back.

"Can you just trust me?"

"Have I EVER trusted you?"

"There's a first for everything," he said with a casual shrug, "Besides, you have my jacket."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Kari practically screamed.

"I don't know. But you have it. And you kept it all this time. What does that tell you?"

"That I'm obsessive?" she answered sarcastically.

"Good girl," he whispered with a smile.

"John —"

"Hey, trust me. I'll find you again. Chances are Magneto will head after you soon, and I'll go with him."

"THEN what?"

"I'll tell you when we get there."

Kari sighed, half in anger, and John pulled her into a hug. After releasing her, he looked onto the jet.

"You guys make it to Washington as fast as you can, Magneto's heading to target the president the first chance he gets." He walked around Kari and went up to the cockpit, leaning over Jean's seat, making her jump.

"There's a on old run down laboratory on this island outside Annapolis. Magneto wants to kidnap the president and take him there," he explained, tapping a few coordinates into the computer. Jean looked at Storm, who gave a silent sigh and looked back at John.

"He has some sort of base there as well, he built it a while ago. The laboratory was scheduled for demolition a while back, but he found some one to buy the property and save it. I don't remember the guy's name, but they worked together for a while, and were conducting some experiment there. Now he's holding the virus there, with some way of administering to the entire US, mostly through water mains. If you can keep the president away from there, you probably have a chance of intercepting the Brotherhood. Their main path is hear, so my suggestion would be to fly alongside that path and search for a bit, if nothing turns up, go ahead and get to the president. After that, your only choice is to do your best to protect him."

Everyone stared and when John stood up, he didn't notice Kari looking over his shoulder. He turned around and gave her a quick kiss before hurrying off the jet calling, "Good luck!"

Kari stood there speechless while Jean and Storm looked up at her. She looked down at them, and they exchanged glances.

"What?" she asked.

They made as if they were about to laugh before turning around in their chairs and firing up the engines.

"What?" she repeated.

"He seems energetic," Logan muttered with a snicker. Kari turned and made sure she smacked him over his head before sitting in her seat as the jet took off.


	53. On Alert

Part 52 – On Alert

"Kari, will you hold still?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Kari!"

"I'M FINE!"

"At least just let me —"

"NO. I'm FINE."

"But —"

"Kurt," she said a loud tone. He looked up with defeated eyes. "I AM FINE," she said slowly.

"Okay, okay, I get it."

"Thank you. Jean, how are we doing?"

"No sign of the Brotherhood yet, and we're coming up on the White House."

"Good." Kari stood up and Kurt slumped into her chair. She turned around as he moped. She had been fighting him off for the last ten minutes, trying to get him to stop insisting the need to give her medicine or bandages.

"But you're bleeding," he kept saying. This was true, but Kari didn't feel like they were dire.

"Kurt, I'm not going to die, all right?" she said, half sarcastically. He gave her an expression to match her tone and she rolled her eyes.

"Okay, I get it. I'll never live that down. Understood."

"Just don't try any of your maniac attempts at flying a helicopter from the _outside_," Logan muttered.

"I heard that," Kari snapped.

"Good for you," Logan shot back. Kari rolled her eyes and stepped over to Kitty, who was leaning her head on her hands, elbows balanced on her knees.

"Kitty? How are you?" she asked quietly.

"How were you when John left?" Kitty muttered, not realizing the extent of hurt that caught Kari at that moment. "Sorry."

"That bad, huh?" was the other girl's reply.

"Worse, if possible."

"I dunno about _that_," Kari grumbled.

"Have you ever had some one you love die right in front of you?" Kitty snapped suddenly, glaring at her. Kari kept her calm stare and Kitty covered her eyes with her hand and slumped back in her chair.

"Sorry."

"It's all good. I imagine this is odd to talk about, especially when the person your talking to has had the same thing happen. A rare sort of subject for two people to have — I'm rambling."

"No, you're fine. It's just…you never think it'll be you…you know?"

"Yeah."

"And when something like this happens to some one you know, you get that feeling…when you wonder when you'll be next…well in your case, you should be used to it by now."

"That's not funny," Kari grumbled as Kitty started a fit of uncontrollable giggles. She started shaking as she covered her mouth to stop it.

"Kitty," she snapped, starting her own fit of snickering. Soon they were both fighting as hard as they could to simply keep breathing in between laughs. Logan looked over his chair and rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry. In a situation like this, your emotions are sort of random, I guess."

"Oh, they are. Trust me, they get worse," Kari said, taking in a deep breath to calm herself.

"Oh that's helpful."

"That's what I'm here for. Though I always thought I was better at comical relief."

"You'd think that when this happens, one would lose all sense of humor."

"Ah, but I'm strong willed, my friend," Kari said in a dramatic tone, making Kitty snicker, "Come here."

She gave Kitty a hug, and when she released her Kitty took a long breath and let it out slowly.

"Now, in _this_ case, your best option, is to kick everyone's ass for Bobby, and somehow, not get killed," Kari said, nodding her head in sarcastic thought.

"Now you're not helping," Kitty snapped.

"Come on, we all loved him, so let's just kill everyone in his honor." This earned a sharp smack over the top of her head.

"You are so weird."

"I take great pride in that. Just seriously, don't sweat it, okay? When we get home, everything will calm down, and we'll all be good."

With one last smile Kari heading to the front of the jet to check on Jean and Storm.

"Kari?" Kitty asked suddenly. She turned and made a small "hm" noise.

"Is…is John coming back with us?"

After that question, the entire jet remained silent.

"WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO KEEP LOOKING, WE HEAD OUT NOW!" Magneto yelled fiercely, making all other mutants feel as if a whip had cracked.

"Magneto!"

The elder man turned around with an irritated expression. He looked up and saw John climbing up and over rocks at a jogging pace. Magneto was just about to open his mouth when a flash of something came out of the blue, slamming into John and landing on top of him at the man's feet.

"GET OFF OF ME!" John yelled, flailing for his freedom while Crevan glared at him with that homicidal glint in his eyes.

"What's going on here?" their leader asked, "Where have you two been?"

"I can tell you where _he's_ been," Crevan snarled, wrapping his claws fingers around John's wrists and pinning them to the dirt.

"I was chasing after Kari," John said immediately, making the man above them both raise his eyebrows.

"Were you now?"

"He's a liar," Crevan argued, glaring in John's face.

"We'll see who's a liar," John shot back.

"He was trying to side with them!"

"Who's siding with who? Why don't you tell them who gave me _this_?" John turned his head, pointing out the bruises all along the wide of his neck and past his shoulders.

"Huh? Why don't you tell them who did that to me?" John shifted so his shirt moved up, showing bloody scrapes and more bruises. Caught off guard, Crevan was pushes onto his back when John kicked him in the stomach and got to his feet in the blink of an eye.

"Or, you know what Crevan? Tell them who did THIS!" He pulled back his sleeve, showing the bandage around his wrist, which was dry with blood. He pulled the bandage off, revealing the cuts from Crevan's claws a few nights before.

The demon lay on his back, staring up with the most malicious intent John had seen yet, and Magneto kept his eyebrows raised at the both of them.

"This from the boy who's siding with the X-MEN," he snapped angrily.

"This from the man who had no intent of helping the Brotherhood in the first place!" John yelled. Magneto shot a glance at Crevan.

"He's a liar!"

"I'm the liar? Oh yeah? 'I don't care how pissed that walking magnet gets'. Remember that Crevan? Oh, I do. Perhaps you remember who it was as well?"

"YOU'RE DEAD, ALLERDYCE!" Crevan screamed, lunging at him. John would have jumped out of the way, if he hadn't reacted in the following way. Once Crevan had yelled that line, John froze, because he found himself on the bleachers at Xavier's school, and Kari had just jumped for him. She was held back though; Kitty had grabbed her waist to keep her from reaching him.

John shook his head for a second and saw Crevan flailing at the hands of Arclight, who had grabbed him before he reached John.

"Liar or not, you two work for me, and the Brotherhood isn't so easy to dismiss as you may think. I'm not a fan of traitors. You two get it together. I don't want any more trouble that might cause a downfall to this plan. We're heading to Washington, that's the end of it. I'll kill you both the first chance I get if you act up again."

With that, Magneto turned and headed down the hills of rock, and Arclight released Crevan. And to John's surprise, he walked past him without another word. John watched him for a second, before heading down the hill himself and catching up with the front, so as to not be near Crevan if he decided to go insane again.

John caught his breath and as he rewrapped the bandage around his wrist, stared at Kari's glove.

_("Have I EVER trusted you?")_

_("There's a first for everything.")_

He gave sort of a silent snicker and then sighed. Maybe he was starting to finally make a good choice in his life.

"Okay. We here. Now, the only rule I have, is let me, Logan, and Jean settle this. No one else talks, no one else does anything. If we screw this up, we could be in major trouble here, all right?" Storm had stood up from her seat and given everyone a stern glance. Everyone nodded and Kari moved her head to look out of the window of the jet.

"Storm, are you sure we should have landed here?"

"It was the only choice. Now, chances are security's going to surround us once we get out of the jet."

"Chances are high, I'd say, they're already outside," Kari put in.

"Good point. Well, let's go. Remember, nobody makes any move or says anything. We have to be rational about this."

"Since when was the world ever rational?" Kari muttered as she stepped down the ramp, glancing around and the many security guards who had guns raised to them.

"Identify yourselves now. You are trespassing on federal grounds."

"We need to speak with the president now," Jean said firmly.

"On what terms?"

"We have proof that a band of mutants is on its way here with the intent of assassinating him. We need to get him to safety."

'We will take charge of that if necessary."

"These mutants can't be underestimated, we need to talk to him NOW."

"I'm afraid I can't let you pass," the guard insisted, keeping his gun level at Logan's stomach.

"Hold your fire, stand down," said a voice.

The guards lowered their guns slowly, and a man in a simple suit came forward with a pair of curiously gleaming eyes. He was vaguely familiar, and Kari couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Ah, you must be the ever-esteemed X-Men."

"And you are?" Logan cut in. A quick glance from Jean kept him from extending his claws.

"You must be 'Wolverine'. And 'Storm'…" The man went through each of their mutant aliases until his eyes fell on Kari, and they seemed to gleam with a newfound emotion Kari couldn't pinpoint as well. Whether it was daring, or it was a trickle triumphant.

"Ah, you must be Kari."

"We would appreciate it if you would tell us your name," she interrupted.

"Such manners for a girl your age," he said with raised eyebrows.

"I do my best," she half growled.

"We need to speak with the president," Jean said in a loud tone, drowning out the beginnings of an argument, " The Br —"

"Brotherhood of Mutants is on its way here, yes I know," he said over her voice. Everyone stopped.

"Then — you've sheltered him already?"

"I never said that," the man answered with a straight face. It was right then Kari recognized him.

"Richardson," she said, half to herself in a sort of gasp.

"What?" Logan turned around and looked at her.

"Daren Richardson, the man who created the cure, the one who started the whole conspiracy. You're him!" Kari said with a half-awed expression, pointing at him.

"Took you long enough, to be sure," Richardson said. It was only now Kari also noticed his British accent, which seemed to have made its way past her ears before. "I've taken the liberty of accessing all of your files. You're familiar with the procedure, I take it," he added, giving Kari an accusing glance. She tried to avoid it without suspicion, looking down and then to the side at Kitty, who stared at her out of the corner of her eye.

"And as of now, you are all convicted criminals."

Richardson motioned with one hand and the officers surrounding them raised their guns and moved in slowly. Kari jumped in quickly, moving in front of Logan and Jean.

"On what charges!"

"Trespassing on federal ground, accessing confidential government files without authorization, and attempting an assassination on the president of the United States."

"WHAT!" Logan cried out.

"And once you're in our custody, we will proceed with our motive." Richardson gave a nod and the men with the guns moved forward, the first one to reach them grabbed Kitty by her arm. She gave him a glare and his hand went through her arm.

"What exactly is your motive?" Storm asked, giving a side-glance to one of the men. Daren gave a simple smile and then turned away.

"Sergeant, take them to their new quarters and alert Magneto that we're on schedule."


	54. Crevan's Controversy

Part 53 – Crevan's Controversy

"Mr. Richardson will be meeting us upon arrival, I expect you all to be on your _best_ behavior," Magneto said sarcastically.

They had entered Washington DC, and were now making their way through the crowded streets, earning fearful looks, and a few people even decided to run. Magneto hardly made any response as he pushed cars out of his way to clear a path. The White House wasn't far now. John's pulse was racing, his heart thudding against his chest. All he could do was hope that Kari and the others had reached the president in time. But who was this Richardson guy Magneto mentioned? He didn't remember any part of the plan with some one else involved. Had he sent off part of the Brotherhood before them?

No, he didn't remember any mutant with that name.

"Uh, sir, if you don't mind me asking, who's Richardson?"

"I would expect you to remember a name from the past, John. You _are_ intelligent, aren't you?" he added with a side-glance.

John looked ahead in thought, until it hit him like a wrecking ball.

"Daren Richardson? The mutant protestor?!"

"More like mutant _assistor_," Magneto corrected as they approached the gates to the White House. They saw a man in a suit standing at the entrance with his hands folded behind his back and a line of guards surrounding the building.

"But I thought —"

"For you, I'd advise against it," Magneto said, cutting off his words. John shut his mouth at once and they approached Richardson, who seemed pleased about something. John gave him a curious look as Magneto gave him a polite nod as a greeting.

"I was beginning to think you weren't going to make it on time," Daren said matter-of-factly.

"We're often underestimated," John spoke up without thinking. He was staring at the older man, who was about half a foot taller than him, with eyes that were trying not to seem suspicious.

"They arrived earlier, they're in my custody at the moment," Daren said, ignoring John and keeping his eyes on Magneto.

"Good. Is the president available by chance?"

"Why, yes, he is," Daren replied with a nasty grin.

"Who got here earlier?" John asked, turning his gaze to Magneto.

"Well, it wouldn't be much of a plan if the X-Men were interfering now, would it?"

John froze and Magneto looked down at him. Crevan, now standing on his other side, gave him a side-glance, and you could just notice a glint of triumph in his eyes.

"Is something wrong, John?" he asked coldly. John snapped his glance at Crevan, trying to keep his words steady, but stammering anyway.

"N-no, that's…that's fine. Good idea, in fact. Very good." He swallowed nervously and Magneto took in a long breath. Richardson motioned them forward.

"Shall we, then?"

"Yes, very good," Magneto stepped forward as the Brotherhood followed behind him.

"We'll go into the meeting room, we'll send in the president. The rest of your friends here can gather in the other room and rest. I'm….sure they've earned it, am I right?"

"I suppose," the older man answered with a nod as they entered. John didn't let his eyes leave Richardson even as they left the rest of the Brotherhood unattended in the other room. He peeked around the corner and watched him carefully until he disappeared at last. John leaned back against the wall and covered his eyes miserably, muttering "Crap" over and over again. NOW how was he supposed to get to Kari?

Crevan watched John with interest as he kept that dismayed expression steady on his face. He was about half way across the room, keeping his eyes on the younger teenager. It was a moment before John realized he was being watched. He immediately dropped his hand and managed a stern expression.

"What?" he asked stubbornly.

"You seem awfully disappointed about something," Crevan stated offhandedly.

"And what gave you that idea?"

"That look on your face. It's rather…intriguing."

"Oh really?"

"What exactly are you hiding from me?" Crevan asked quietly. He had been walking towards John slowly, and was now close enough to look down at him, making him a little nervous. "Little Pyro?"

"LITTLE?" John repeated. Crevan raised his eyebrows. And for a second, his eyes almost seemed human with their curiosity.

"I'm not hiding anything. Now leave me alone."

"You're really bad at lying, you know that?"

"Speak for yourself. Now get off of me."

Crevan had gotten so close to John that their chests were touching, and Crevan was practically forcing him against the wall. John seemed as though he was shrinking into the corner under the taller boy.

"You led them here, didn't you?"

"How the hell could I lead them here with you on my ass all the time?" John shot back immediately, realizing that was not the right answer. Crevan slowly led a smile spread across his face.

"You amuse me sometimes, but don't think that'll stop me from killing you. AND them."

"If you touch them, I swear to god —"

"Who said I was going to touch them first?" came the whispering reply. John froze.

"I have a question for you, little Pyro."

"Stop calling me little," John argued childishly.

"If, for some reason, I was willing to let you go find them without telling the walking magnet, what would you do for me?"

John looked up at him with that same childish defiance.

"What could you possibly want from me?" John asked quietly.

"Other than your death, nothing much…so we'll try simplifying this. You let me kill you, and she and her little friends go free."

"You don't even know where they are," John pointed out.

"You go ahead and think that. Until then, I'll wait for an answer."

"Why do you hate me so much anyway?"

"Think back really hard to the time you met her. Everything you went through, I had to suffer with. In more simplified terms, I despise everything about you, and you annoy me."

John stopped again, noticing the common flash of hatred Crevan always had in his eyes. This time they had a glint of Kari's personality in them again. When he noticed this, and all matter of memories flooded back to him, he felt some new feeling. Different than what he thought he felt back in that helicopter. It was of a will to sacrifice…but still somehow different.

"You really want to kill me?"

"Depends. If you take the offer, I may think of something else. Like killing her in front of you."

"Now after that, do you really expect me to trust that you're going to help me?"

"You can trust one thing. And that's the fact that I always get what I want."

John stared.

"There's a base under the building. They're being held in the third chamber."

Crevan finally backed up, and with a half sinister, half unknown emoted expression, he ruffled his hand in a rough but somehow gentle way through John's hair, and walked away, leaving the teenager staring with half wide eyes and a confused and shocked looked. His hair, now sticking up in odd places, he felt now had their own nerve endings, seeing as his scalp felt tingly from Crevan's touch. He stood up straight, leaning against the wall for support, and watched the demon shove his hands into his pockets, staring up at the ceiling with seeming content.

Whose side was he on anyway?


	55. Hopeful Last

Part 54 – Hopeful Last

It wasn't very hard for John to find the base under the building. Two guards were standing in the middle of a room, and John had rolled his eyes at their totally inconspicuous behavior. Looking left and right to make sure they were the only one's there, he crept around a corner, and within seconds the two guards were down by his hand, and he saw the crack in the floor. Confused, and automatically assuming it was the entrance, he looked down at one of the guards, who was trying to shake off the blow.

John grabbed him by the collar of his uniform and slammed his against one of the walls.

"Open it," he demanded.

"Give me one good reason to," the stubborn man spat. John pulled out his lighter and flicked it open, holding the man with one hand. He saw a flicker of terror in his eyes as he watched the flame in panic.

"I take it you've heard of me?" John threatened quietly.

* * *

"So lemme get this straight. You're saying sparkplug thinks Magneto's going to turn the president into a mutant?" Logan repeated.

"His name is JOHN, Logan. Call him that one more time and I swear —"

"Oh, shut it."

"But that does seem like a logical plan, I suppose," Dr. McCoy spoke up, "By making the president a mutant, he could force his views to drastically change, or he could force the president to pass a law and somehow make the entire population mutants."

"That or he could simply want the president as a hostage," Warren brought up.

"Well, whatever his plan is, we need to get o the president before they do whatever it is."

"Wait a minute. Doesn't Richardson have full military control?" Kari said suddenly.

"By the looks of it."

"Oh boy."

"What? What now?" Logan asked.

"Meaning all security everywhere, and if we're spotted then they're on our tails faster than bloodhounds."

"Whatever the plan is and whatever the president has to do with it, you guys need to get out, so follow me."

John grabbed Kari's arm and they headed down the passage and out of a door near the grounds of the White House.

"I never knew the president had all of THIS," Logan scoffed, noting the complex escape route.

"Standard procedure. All diplomats have some type of crazy security, trust me," McCoy assured. They all moved close together and exchanged glances. Kari looked at John, who gave them all a shrug, a sigh and a nod of good luck before turning to leave.

"Wait, where are you going?" she asked quickly, grabbing his arm and pulling him back.

"I can't stay with you guys, you know that already, I have to go!"

"John!" Kari whined.

"WHAT?" he snapped, arguing against her childish attitude.

"I don't want you going back there!" she argued back.

"Like I have a choice. I'm going now, bye!" He turned and started leaving and she chased him halfway across the grounds because of his pace, leaving the others staring after in curiosity, until they began formatting a plan and almost forgot she was there as they chatted quietly.

"I have to go back otherwise Crevan will come after me and if I'm with you, that will just be worse!"

"We can't keep doing this, you act like it's school and we're just going to a different class for the next hour! I want you to come with us, I don't want to lose you again!"

"You didn't lose me before, and you won't lose me now, okay?" He grabbed her shoulders and stared right into her eyes, making sure she listened.

"But what's going to happen now?"

"What's going to happen is you're going to go back over there, learn the new plan, stop Magneto, and THEN I can come home."

Kari stared at him.

"You make it sound so easy," she said sarcastically.

"It's probably easier than I make it sound," he snickered, playing with a strand of her hair that hung over her shoulder.

"But sooner or later they might find out you helped us, what if he kills you?"

"I'm not scared of Magneto," he said calmly.

"I didn't say Magneto."

John stared. "Oh."

"I don't want him near you, I want you as far from him as possible, you have no idea what he's capable of doing."

"I think I have an idea," John muttered, half to himself, "Anyway, I'm going, help them, and I'll see you soon."

"Promise?"

"Yes, MOTHER," John mocked. Kari smacked the side of his head lightly and he snickered.

"Hey. That's no way to treat the guy who just saved your life now, is it?"

"Well, if I've tried to kill him before and never succeeded, I'll have to work harder, right?"

John kissed her playfully and gave her a teasing pet on the head. "BYE."

"Bye, John," she mocked. She watched him run off and as soon as he disappeared she turned and headed back to others.

"You're not going to do that every time he comes around, are you?" Logan asked, half disgusted.

"Speak for yourself, there, boy," Kari shot back, eyeing him and then Jean. He growled and Storm cleared her throat loudly. They tore their glares from one another and they all headed around the grounds to make an attack, which they hoped would be the last they had to make.


	56. Author's Apologies

**Author's Note**

Hello, everyone. It's me, the author...the...lazy 14-year-old sophomore. Um...I'm here to basically explain my current situation. I know you were all probably hoping this was an update but um...

Well, long story short, I've been busy and lazy at the same time. The business leads to laziness through tired...ness. I know it's been a VERY long time since I updated and you're all probably giving me "T-T" faces right now. XD

Very sorry about that, I know this is a VERY long fanfiction and a lot of you have been wanting an update, so here's my explanation.

I took a notebook to school to write notes in and found it to be my notebook of original chapters of the fanfiction. And due to a review note I was sent recently, I realized, "HEY, KARI, WRITE SOME SHIT."

So I spent my English class period writing a new chapter to the fanfiction. I'm going to edit a bit of the recent parts, so I'd recommend reading back about three chapters and then continue forward. I've started shaping up the next line in the plot, so hopefully I'll be motivated to continue.

So I hope in about three days or so, you will all have some updates to read. SO sorry about the delay of about...god knows how many months, VERY sorry. I hate disappointing people that read my stuff, so I'll make it up to you all I promise.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR READING! Your reviews make me smile every day, I'll keep working, I promise, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

Sincerely, your ever sleep deprived author:

Kari "Trevor" Tryk


	57. Black Light

Part 55 – Black Light

"So what was our plan? Run in there and scream 'Hey, what's up, we're here to foil your plans' and hope they say 'Okay!' and not shoot us?" Kari asked. They were inching across the grounds in hopes of finding some kind of stealthy way inside.

"We're more than capable of getting Magneto. The Brotherhood's a joke, so don't sweat it." Logan craned his neck to see inside of one of the lower windows, checking to see if it served as a good entrance.

"Yeah, but what about Richardson?"

"What about him?" was the shrugging reply.

"Well we have to assume he has SOME level of power, human or not. How else could he just TAKE the White House? Politics alone couldn't have gained him entrance, could it?"

"It could have been," McCoy answered.

"That or he's a good strategist as well," Kitty put in.

"It has to be more than that. I mean, he could have arranged a meeting with the President, yeah sure, I guess, but control of the entire security command? He couldn't have done that in a split second."

"Maybe he told the President he had news of a possible attack on the White House and explained he had a strategy to protect him. The President could have assigned him authority," McCoy suggested.

"What if this was a plan all along?" Kari shot back.

"Elaborate on that," Kurt said calmly.

"What if Richardson and Magneto planned this together a long time ago, and it was being constructed long before we ever got involved?"

"Well, if we were originally part of the plan, we WERE involved, wouldn't you say?" Logan asked with a smirk.

"Or what if Richardson's not working with Magneto at all?" Kurt said suddenly.

"How's _that_ possible?" Kitty asked.

"What if we're all just a pawn, and we're a branch of some BIGGER plan? Richardson was very passionate in his anti-mutant protests. What if he's WORKING with mutants in order to make a plan that will annihilate our kind?"

"That sounds hypocritical," she said after a pause.

"But plausible," Kari interrupted.

"So you're saying he's using Magneto and the Brotherhood as well?" Jean asked Kurt.

"It's a possibility."

"So he could have contacted Magneto, struck HIS fancies by saying he would get US involved —" Kitty started quickly.

"— introducing a plan to frame us and when Magneto finished us off, WE'RE out of the way and Richardson tricks him into thinking he's the higher power now." Kari finished.

"But in the end he'd be destroying Magneto as well," Jean put in.

"You all think too much," Logan said, raising an eyebrow, "I think Magneto and Richardson are in cahoots, the anti-mutant protest thing was an act and they both want to take their jolly time dominating the planet."

"Why would he fake the anti-mutant protest thing?" McCoy shrugged.

"To make himself look like the last person to be a suspect," Kari realized suddenly, "WAIT!"

"What now?"

"The protests! If he made himself seem like he hated mutants, and he was a politician, he'd have access to millions of files. Just like me, from Dr. McCoy's computer. He started this plan when he started protesting, Magneto was with him the whole time and they were constructing the whole thing, then Richardson must have decided he wanted to do it all himself, so he brought US into the picture to throw Magneto off!"

"That still doesn't explain why he needs the President," Kurt stopped her.

"Like I said, you think too much," Logan added.

"Actually, she's quite correct."

If they had been cartoon characters on a Saturday morning kid's show, they would have played the cats that jumped to the ceiling from a barking dog. Kari had never felt her heart leap into her throat as fast as it did at that point. The lot of them spun around to find the speaker, but when they turned, there was nothing there.

"I'm very surprised at her deduction skills."

The voice came from behind them, and they turned again to discover only space.

"Although your theory is mostly correct, that leaves you no time to _save_ the President, the Brotherhood, nor yourselves for that matter."

To the left now, but it was as though the speaker was invisible, and was walking around them just to tease them.

"What are you planning Richardson?!" Kari said angrily, recognizing the villain by his accent. It was almost as genuine as Kurt's.

"Well you tell me, little girl. Your reasoning skills have not failed you yet. With an IQ of about 140, I'm not surprised you haven't devised a plan to destroy me yet."

"Humor me," Kari snapped.

"I want to create a world where this idiotic dispute between races is terminated. And despite all political levels that have claimed exterminating or curing all mutants is the answer, we have yet to create a REALISTIC solution. So I've taken it upon myself to devise that answer."

During this segment, the voice alternated locations, and soon they all stood back to back, facing all directions at once and scanning around for any sign of whom the speaker was.

"Mutants are the next link in evolution, as I'm sure you have heard. And the fact that the link before them is trying to deny their very existence is sickening. It's no more than racism or sexism, it's disgusting."

"Caught onto that, what's your point, Dick?" Logan asked.

There was a pause, and Kari was sure it was because Richardson was narrowing his eyes in annoyance somewhere at him.

"I will unleash a weapon to destroy all life on Earth. Leaving the chain of evolution where it is, life will eventually begin once more on the planet, but it will BEGIN with mutants. By beginning with mutants, they cannot be denied or feared."

"That's the dumbest logic I have EVER heard," Kari said after a long silence.

"Even if it DID work, that means all of the existing life will be gone, even you!" Jean argued.

"Why risk it when it won't even WORK?!" Kari interrupted.

"Ah, see there's where your IQ becomes insufficient."

There was a laugh and then suddenly, they all got the distinct impression he had left.

"This goes beyond insane. And yet, almost cliché," Kitty added with a look of thoughtfulness.

"Okay. Exterminating all mutants is one thing, but ALL life on Earth? He's got to be kidding." Jean looked panicked.

"He didn't exactly leave a loophole in his speech either. What are we supposed to do NOW?"

"He made it sound like everyone but him will die," Kurt added.

"Insufficient IQ my ASS," Kari growled. Then out of nowhere, she punched through the low window, setting off a series of alarms screeching through the entire building.

"_JESUS!_" she screamed in agony, shaking her hand. She now had several shards of glass imbedded in her knuckles, piercing clear through the glove on her right hand. As adrenaline began its pulsing course through her veins, she grimaced and held her hand gingerly, soon gripping her wrist tightly in hopes to stop the blood that was already flowing into the grass. Her teeth clenched and suddenly she felt a sharp smack in on the back of her head, sending her stumbling forward a step. Logan was resisting doing it again.

"OW!" she yelled angrily.

"WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?!"

"Insufficient my ASS, he should check YOURS!" she shouted back. "I broke the window as a diversion, moron!"

He stared, almost with a dumb expression, back at her.

"You do know what a diversion is, don't you?" she asked sarcastically, narrowing her eyes. He was half a second away from smacking her again when she rolled her eyes in annoyance and started running across the grounds to go around the White House.

"Since Richardson KNEW we were there, I punched the window to make it seem like we had panicked and wanted to get to the President as soon as possible, so we would jump through that window since we already had access to it! In which case we're ACTUALLY entering into the WEST wing instead to throw him off, because now he's going to send security to the EAST wing. Kitty and Kurt will help us inside so we don't trip the alarms like the last window."

When they reached the lowest window of the west wing, Kitty phased through the wall and Kurt teleported the last of them inside. They all caught their breath and Kari clenched her teeth as she pulled the bigger shards of glass from her hand.

"Good plan, kid, but warn us next time, all right?"

"I'd have more TIME to warn you if you'd quit smacking me all the time," she added spitefully, dropping the shards onto the carpet and gripping her wrist tightly again. She worked on catching her breath and steadying her heartbeat next and finally took one last deep breath. Her hand felt like it had been shoved into a large cactus.

"Oh, I'm FINE, she says," Kurt rolled his eyes.

"I am."

Everyone knew this was a lie, but they didn't question it. Kari looked around the room, and then looked at Jean.

"We should try the Oval Office," McCoy suggested. They all nodded and Kari noted to herself that she was losing feeling below her wrist. She had already stained the sleeve of her (John's) jacket. She shook her arm a bit to ignore it and flexed her fingers lightly.

"Let's just go," Jean sighed, leading them out of the room. It was seconds after that they ended up in the room occupied by the Brotherhood. They all looked up, and Kari muttered a barely audible "SHIT." As the rival mutants rose to their feet, some one's voice commanded them to stand down, and they found themselves staring at Magneto, Crevan at his side.

"Ah, just the man I wanted to see," Logan said skeptically. Kari noticed John barely daring to come out from behind Magneto.

"Long time no see," Kari sneered at Crevan. In a split second he had his fangs bared and was lunging at her when Richardson's voice suddenly cried out, and the man appeared in front of Crevan, who practically slid to a halt. Everyone but Magneto jumped. It was like the man had teleported. Only when Kari was about to make this accusation, Kurt muttered that it wasn't.

"Then how did he do that so fast?"

"Define speed, and I'll answer that for you," Richardson smiled almost lazily.

"Distance traveled per unit of time. Now how did you do that?" Kari demanded. Richardson's smile seemed to falter for a moment.

"To avoid long stories, I can alter time, so now I will bid you all farewell, and if you do manage to concoct some plan to foil mine, I'm afraid it will be to late to stop me."

"What are you doing now?" Kitty asked quickly.

"In fact, I'll be surprised if you even remember any of this," he added.

"You can't erase our memory," Kari said quickly.

"Oh, can't I?" he shot back.

"WHAT?!" John's voice rang out suddenly.

"Hush, boy, this has nothing to do with you," Richardson snapped. He walked over to the wall closest to him, so the Brotherhood and the X-Men faced each other while he watched from the middle.

"So long, Wolverine. It's been a pleasure," Magneto sneered.

"Where do you think you're going? With him?" McCoy put in. Magneto's gaze seemed to flick towards Richardson.

"He's been using you the whole time, surely you knew that?" Logan said calmly, his arms crossed. This whole time John had finally walked out from behind Magneto and was having a sort of staring contest with Kari. She was silently begging him to come over to them. Crevan watched him closely, and Magneto gave Richardson a suspicious stare.

"It matters not, farewell to the lot of you."

He put his hand on the wall and out of some fear or instinct, Kitty leapt at him, and phased them both through the wall halfway. She then pulled him back out and he glared down at her.

"GET OFF OF ME YOU VERMIN!"

"Vermin?" she repeated with her eyebrows raised.

"Kurt, grab him!" Kari shouted suddenly. With a loud _bamf_ Kurt appeared by Richardson, Kitty let him go and Kurt caught his arms behind his back.

All hell broke loose.

The Brotherhood ran at Richardson and the X-Men, and no one even questioned what had happened to the President. It was now kill or be killed, and Richardson surprised Kari. He was a man of maybe late twenties to early thirties, but he moved like Kurt. Whether he was using his ability or not, he seemed an expert at battle, like the X-Men. She went after him as many times as she could, but he kept evading her, and then she finally realized what he had been doing.

When the faces in the battle disappeared, she figured it was them hitting the ground, but somehow, he was making them disappear.

"JEAN! KEEP AWAY FROM HIM!" she shouted suddenly. Then something heavy slammed into her back, she flew forward and slammed her head against the tile floor. She cried out and felt her hair yanked upwards. Someone was crouching over her back, and began whispering in her ear.

"You can't get away this time, this time I'll kill you. I'll torture you so slowly you'll think it's a career."

Feeling a mix of adrenaline and fear run through her, she tried to roll over and push Crevan off, but she was stuck. Then another body hit them both, and the weight was gone. She rolled onto her back and got to her feet, and found Crevan and John fighting like two rabid dogs.

Due to Richardson's ability to make everyone disappear into thin air, there were only a few people left in the room. Storm and McCoy were gone, and Logan was inches away from his grasp without realizing it.

"LOGAN, GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

Too late. It was then she finally saw what he was doing. He was grabbing onto them, and somehow, they were disintegrating. Decaying right before her eyes. Logan had turned, a hand grabbed his neck, and his skin just decayed at a rapid speed. Logan shook free in a second, however, and his healing ability recovered his neck quickly, and he stared in shock at what had just happened to him. He grabbed his neck and Richardson leapt at him like a lion. Entranced by this, Kari was brought back to reality by a body hitting her once more, but more like yanking on her arm to escape a homicidal demon.

"JOHN!" she managed to yell before he pulled her behind Magneto, then jumped out of the way as Crevan slammed into the older man with rabid eyes. The two tangled together briefly bought the teenagers enough time to run into another room without being seen.

"We have to get Richardson away from everyone, he's killed the entire Brotherhood!" John cried frantically.

"I hadn't noticed," Kari snapped. John looked down and grabbed her hand, picking it up lightly.

"Why's your hand bleeding?" he asked skeptically.

"Long story. Listen, I need to you distract Crevan for about five seconds."

John stared.

"You hate me don't you?" he said finally with narrowed eyes.

"Always have," she answered, grabbing his arm and throwing him back into the room.

"REMIND ME WHY I'M COMMITTING SUICIDE?!" he yelled.

"Draw him to Richardson like you did Magneto!" she demanded. She went around the edge of the room and ran into Kitty as she ducked something metal being thrown at her head by Magneto.

"Hello!" Kari yelped, dropping to the floor and getting up quickly.

"Got any plans, Ms. Insufficient IQ?" Kitty asked hopefully.

"Just one, come with me," she ordered, grabbing Kitty's arm. She watched John closely, and then as Crevan turned his back to her, she snuck around him.

"John?" she asked, hoping Crevan didn't turn around.

"WORKING ON IT!" he argued. He walked sideways towards Richardson, and then right as the demon leapt, he dropped to the floor, and the man was tackled.

"Kitty, phase him into the floor!" Kari shouted, pointing at the man who was trying to fight off the rabid attacker. Kitty jumped on Richardson's legs and successfully pulled him into the floor up to his shoulders. Crevan ignored the both of them, turned to Kari's voice, and the suddenly, everything froze.

Magneto had thrown Logan into the wall, he was stuck in mid air, Jean was back to back with Kurt fighting Arclight and Callisto, John was on his feet with an expression of readiness to jump at Kari, and Crevan was menacingly frozen in an attempt to kill her.

Suddenly, Logan, Kurt, Jean, and Kitty all twitched like a glitch in a computer, and then like faltering holograms, disappeared. Magneto did the same seconds later and Kari stared at Richardson. She and him were the only two moving.

"What's going on?!"

Arclight and Callisto now disappeared.

"The last of you seem to be immune to parts of my power. I'm sending you back to certain parts and places in time."

"WHY?!"

"Because you can't interfere with my plan if you can't find me. My plan is in progress, and as you all go back to wherever I put you, whether to the past or future, your memories will be altered. You will either not remember what happened, or you'll be so far in the future my plan ill already have taken place."

"You can't control where you send us?" Kari asked quickly.

"Unfortunately no. But it makes no difference. Goodbye, little girl."

Kari looked down and saw her hands turn into transparent holograms. She looked to the right and saw John's image faltering. Then, somehow, he shook his head, and Crevan as well, and they all stared at each other. As their images continued to fade. John and Crevan must have realized what was happening. John ran for Kari, and she for him, and Crevan ran with an intent to kill.

In some slow motion sequence, two gloved hands almost touched, Crevan sparked and disappeared, and Kari heard John scream her name, and she flew through darkness.

* * *

She wasn't sure what was happening. It was like traveling through a wormhole of black smoke, and there were several paths.

_This must have been what he meant,_ was her last panicked thought, meaning Richardson could only send them to the portal, but whichever path they ended up in was purely chance. She saw a flashing image of Crevan, and he must have caught sight of her too, because the next opening she passed he appeared by her, and tackled her. It couldn't really have been a tackle, since they were floating in some unknown space, but she didn't know how else to describe it. She tried to fight him off, but the farther they traveled, the more pressure she seemed to feel, like the deeper you plunge into water, the more weight it has on you.

If they had been in Earth's gravity, it would have been like this. She was on her back and Crevan was above her, and they were in somewhat of a choking fight. Hands around each other's necks. Crevan's claws were digging into her skin, and she noticed she was bleeding not because she felt it, but because she saw it.

The blood floated like they were in space, and it created a haze around them as he drew more and more. Her hand bled still, which added to the haze.

She managed to fight the pressure on her legs, and she kicked him off, and he flew through another portal. She tried to turn and she where she was heading, but John rammed into her and the tumbled through another portal. If she could have spoken, she probably would have yelled at him, but then all three of them ended up in the same portal. As Kari realized that it would mean the three of them would end up in the same place, she tried to fight Crevan off again, but the pressure on her was still growing. Her breath was becoming shallow, and she was grimacing.

John turned to Crevan, and they all started changing to holograms once more. Kari would have murmured another "shit", but instead she grabbed onto John's left hand and pulled him into another portal away from Crevan.

They started moving faster, and Kari almost felt a wind, but the pressure became so intense that her eyes began to hurt. She shut them tightly, gripped John's hand as tight as she could, and then without warning, he was torn from her, there was a bright silvery flash and Kari hit the ground.


	58. Armin and Diedrich

Part 56 – Armin and Diedrich

It felt heavenly. It was grainy, but cool. The perfect temperature. It felt like planting soil, pressed against her face not too harshly, but not too lightly. She must have fallen asleep in the yard again. That happened when she would lie out on the grass. Especially after classes on some school days. It smelt sweet, with a tint of earthly bitterness. There was a light breeze, and it ran over her like the sliding of a light sheet. It was heard through the trees, and over the grass. That soft ruffling would have made her smile, that small shaking of every earthly plant. Like gentle music.

She felt no need to open her eyes. Her body felt comfortably numb almost. She felt no compulsion to stir it, just to stay in that sweet bed of grass. She felt so tired. How had she even woken up? She couldn't even remember. Her newfound goal was to drift back into her deep sleep. It felt so nice. She had been dreaming, she remembered.

Dreaming of a place, full of people. Smiling faces. There were stairs. There had been a large staircase with red carpet. And a door. She had passed a wooden door, and out of curiosity, grabbed the handle to open it. She had been in that room before. It was her room. Their room.

The other two girls looked up from their current distractions with inquiring eyes, greeting smiles. They were talking, but she couldn't remember what they were saying. It was like a muted radio. She saw their lips form words, but without successful noises. She asked them to repeat themselves, and each time the surrounding noises grew softer and softer, until a dark shroud surrounded her, with no friendly voices to comfort.

Then there was a jolt. A series of miniscule flashes, images all rolled together in a reel, a rush of loud voices drowned her, and then everything fell deathly quiet.

Then one more, it rushed by, a boy falling, plummeting downward in front of her, like a movie screen. The screen moved backward, and then drove down to under her feet, slowed down and she saw his face. Pleading, it was, begging for help, and a hand to grab. "Mercy!" his eyes screamed. His mouth twisted in a cry for a savior, his fingers stretching as far as his bones would allow as his feet were pulled into a void. A slow motion sequence of this after a rushing motion. A black glove over his palm, leaving his fingertips bare, his dark hair caught in a pause, ruffled by whatever wind dragged him below. Then a fast forward, and as though a volume were attached to his voice, his scream grew louder and louder, then quick as a flash, he was pulled from her grasp, and her body jerked.

She remembered all of this, and her eyes once closed, shot open. Her heart beat fast against the grass and dirt under her chest. She looked around wildly from where her head lay against the ground. Tall grass, at least above her nose, swayed lightly in the gentle wind. She blinked slowly, savoring the relief from exhaustion the small action gave her, and then tried her best to raise her head. Her neck was stiff, and her eyes were out of focus to what was beyond the blades of grass.

"Oi."

She nearly jumped out of her skin from the voice, and a foot tapped her lightly in her ribs on the other side of her body. After she got used to her erratic heartbeat, she rolled her head over the grass and looked up into the sunlight. In front of it stood a dark figure, shadowed by the intense light. She could make out that it was carrying something over one shoulder.

"Oi," it repeated. She could not find the energy to reply. She let her head lie back onto the soil despite her neck's uncomfortable angle due to it. After not receiving a reply yet again, the figure knelt down as she squinted one eye from the harsh light. A face got up close to hers, and from the newfound object in her face, she barely had time to adjust what her eyes were seeing before it loudly spoke "OI!" once more. Whoever it was had curious brown eyes, flecked with black around the iris, with a faint ring of dark yellow. They blinked, and she watched its shoulder move and she felt a sharp poke in the forehead. "Sprechen sie deutsch?"

"Ow, hey," she grumbled.

"Naa. So you are not dead," it deducted. She looked up at it with sarcastically inquiring eyes. She heard a small flop onto the grass and another as whatever this person had been carrying dropped as well.

"Huh?" she answered slowly.

"Well, you are bleeding everywhere."

Now that this person had finally leaned back a bit from sitting down, she could tell it was a boy, maybe age twelve, with sort of a know-it-all glance and dark hair.

"Am I now…" she trailed off, letting a huge breath fill her lungs in fatigue.

"What are you doing so far from town?" the boy asked.

"Town…?" she repeated slowly.

"Ja. You must be eight miles at least from Amstetten."

"Amstetten?"

"Ja. But that is just the main town. My village is about three miles east from this place. Are you from Amstetten?"

"No."

"Where did you come from?"

"I…don't remember…" she answered after a long thought.

"How can you not remember where you are from? I am eleven years old and I know MY hometown. I'm in school."

"Are you now?" she asked quietly in sarcasm.

"Ja. I am probably smarter than you, no matter where you are from, wherever that is."

"Can you tell me who invented the television?"

The boy looked stubborn for a moment, his eyebrows twisted in a childish manner.

"Of course I can!" he exclaimed at once. She almost rolled her eyes, or narrowed them. "Where are you headed, anyway?" he asked in a rushed voice, obviously avoiding her question and revealing the fact that he truly didn't know the answer. She thought about it for a long while, and gave her simplest reply when she saw him growing impatient.

"I don't know," she shrugged lightly and gently.

"Well, you are not going to get very far then, are you?"

"I don't even know where I am right now," she interrupted.

"You don't?"

"NO."

"Oh, well, why did you not ask?"

It was she now that gained impatience. She grew tired of his childish remarks, and would have popped him one if she had any energy to lift her arm.

"Then where am I?" she asked exasperatedly.

"You are under a tree catching a cold," he answered smartly, "You are by the road to Amstetten. I was delivering something for my father. I was on my way back home when I found you looking dead as vulture fodder."

"That's a very nice description, thank you."

"Bitte schoen," he answered, sticking his tongue out. She stopped her thoughts for a second.

"Say that again."

"Say what?"

"What you just said."

"'Say what'?"

"No, before that."

"'Bitte schoen'?"

She wracked her brain.

"Is…is that German?"

"Deutsch? Ja, of course. What did you think I would speak, Italienisch?"

"Then how do you know English?"

"They teach us in school," he said this with a small swell of pride, "My mother and father teach me deutsch while I stay in my house. I speak between the two sometimes. It keeps me learning them both at the same time, it is very easy. Do you not speak deutsch?"

"No," she answered slowly.

"Then you _mustn't_ be from around here," he stated flatly.

"Am…am I in Germany?" she asked slowly after an awkward pause.

"Deutschland? Naa," he shook his head, "The closest you will get to Deutschland from this road is Ried. We are in Österreich."

She repeated the name to herself, still quite clueless, until she actually thought back to all of those history classes she had hated for so long.

"You mean…I'm in Austria?"

"Ja, if that is our name in English. I cannot quite remember, but —"

"How did I get here?!" she asked frantically.

"Why do you ask me? I was walking home and I found you under a tree, how am I supposed to know how you came here?"

"Armin!"

A younger voice seemed shrill as it called out to them, and the boy turned his head into the sunlight sharply. "Wie bitte?"

The boy conversed with a bodiless voice for about ten seconds in a stubborn tone until another body came trotting irritably into her sight.

"Ich habe durst," it whined. Another boy, maybe seven or eight.

"Das ist mir egal," the first boy said, sticking his tongue out.

"Gehen wir!" he argued. The elder boy rolled his eyes and looked back at her.

"This is my brother. He is only seven and he complains too much."

"What's he saying?" she asked curiously.

"It does not matter," he said sternly as the younger boy pouted angrily. It seemed right then that he just noticed she was there. His eyes widened suddenly and he made some sort of exclamation. He babbled in a fast voice and argued for another few seconds with his brother.

"He does not speak English like I do. He will not learn until his next school year."

"I see," she said slowly, fascinated by the younger boy's sudden energy. He rambled some more while looking at her, expecting her to answer. He seemed to realize she couldn't understand him. He looked at his brother and pointed to her, asking something. The older boy rolled his eyes and looked at her.

"He wants to know what your name is."

"Oh!" she said, almost amused. And then she suddenly realized she could not answer.

She did not remember.

Before she could tell this to the boy, his brother started rambling more until the older one looked at her after yelling "Sei ruhig!" fiercely. "He wants to know if you're coming with us. Are you?"

"How would I know, I don't even know how I got here in the first place!"

"Maybe you should come with us. My mother knows how to heal you. We can take you to her. Come on!"

Then started the childish tugging at her jacket. They smiled and laughed and jerked on her sleeves playfully. She didn't know what to do. She sighed and after about three minutes of them crying out with laughter and urgent pleas, she gathered enough strength to pull herself to her feet. She staggered, and it wasn't until now that she realized what the boy had been talking about. She was bleeding everywhere. Her arm was crusted over with dirty blood and when she felt her head she felt scrapes and bruises.

"Mother will heal you, mother will heal you!" the boy chanted happily. His brother repeated something in German, probably the same phrase, but she didn't know. They danced happily as they treaded down the road with their small sacks over their shoulders. She was more interested now than ever as they led her down a slightly bumpy yet relatively smooth footpath over fields and hills of green grass. After about ten minutes the younger one tugged at her sleeve.

"Wie heissen sie?" he asked curiously. She looked at his older brother, who said he had asked once again for her name. She thought again for a moment, and replied quietly that she didn't know. He repeated this to his little brother, who looked up at her like she was crazy. He looked at his brother with an eyebrow cocked and muttered something, which his brother scolded him for. She thought it better not to ask. After she listened to them argue for a while, she tuned them out as she gazed at the landscape around her, then after a moment she saw a town just below the hill they walked on.

"That is our home," he pointed when he saw her looking at it. "My name is Armin. My brother is called Diedrich." His brother looked up as Armin said his name and smiled at her. She managed to smile back and the boys led her down the hill to the outskirts of their village. "We must give you a name then, until your other name comes back," Armin suggested with a bright smile.

"I suppose so," she shrugged in total agreement. She couldn't very well go around with no name. What she could not understand is how she had so many vague memories of different activities, of random bits of knowledge from a classroom, yet she couldn't remember who she was or where she was from.

As they walked through this village, her mind was lost in thought, until she felt a tug at her sleeve again. Diedrich pulled on her hand and Armin ran through a chest high gate, for him, into a house calling for his mother. A minute later, with Diedrich practically swinging on her arm playfully, she watched Armin come out of the front door of a somewhat poor yet extremely well built house at the hand of a beautiful woman. Her hair was long and blonde, down to her waist with a thick braid tied back with red ribbon. Her dress was a little faded tan, but it suited her well. She was very thin, but had a cheerful smile as she watched Armin curiously while he dragged her out into the yard. She watched him let go and then run back to her side, grabbing at the sleeve opposite to the one Diedrich had a hold of. Their mother looked up and her smile went away in an instant, replaced with a look of shock. For a moment the four of them were silent, and finally the eldest woman looked at Armin and spoke something in their other language. He replied and looked up at the younger girl.

"My mother asked if you spoke deutsch. I said you didn't."

"Thank you," she said with a slightly amused smile.

"Armin told me he found you on the road from Amstetten."

"I suppose that's right, I'm not from here," she answered awkwardly.

"We must get you cleaned up, you are badly hurt!"

"Trust me, I can't feel a thing," she said sarcastically.

"Well, that is certainly not a good thing. Please, come inside, I will bandage anything you need."

"Told you mother could heal you," Armin said braggingly.

"I see that," she shot back, sticking her tongue out at him like he had. He stuck his tongue out again and ran back to his mother's hand as they led her inside with Diedrich still hanging from her uninjured arm. And as they walked through the door, she heard Armin whisper to the elder woman, "Mother, what's a television?"


	59. Adam

Part 57 - Adam

"I am called Eleonore," the woman said sweetly as she twisted water from a rag into a bowl. It was lightly died a pinkish red from her blood. Eleonore was cleaning her hand at the moment, and she was wincing every now and then as she watched the elder woman work, slightly entranced. "I am Armin and Diedrich's mother."

"I see. They're very nice boys, and I'm glad they brought me here. Who knows how much longer I would have been on that hill."

"I am sure they would have found you sooner or later. They travel on that road very often. Their father is a wood worker, and they deliver packages to Amstetten almost every day."

"Really?"

"Ja. They are very sweet boys, and I am sure they would not have left you there."

"Well, I'm glad they didn't – OW!" she yelped suddenly.

"I am sorry, there are very small pieces of glass in your hand. Do you remember what happened?"

"No. I can't remember anything, really. I was dreaming, and I startled myself awake, really…" she trailed off.

"Do you have any family around here?"

"No. Diedrich and Armin are the only people I've met so far. And you, of course."

"You will have to stay here, then, if you do not have anywhere else to stay."

"Um…all right…OW!" she yelped again. Eleonore pulled a long shard of glass from the left corner of her hand and dropped it with a _plop_ into the bowl. She rinsed the rag again, and dabbed at her forehead gently, noticing the wincing reactions she got from the girl's apparent bruising.

"You do not speak deutsch."

It wasn't a question.

"No, I don't."

"Then you are certainly not from here."

"No."

"And you do not know what name you have?"

"No."

"Well, then we must give you a name."

"Can you do that?" she asked, wondering if it was even legal.

"Of course we can! You are my sister now!" Armin said happily. Diedrich looked confused and then finally cried dutifully "Die Schwester!" They were sitting in the kitchen, and the two boys were on the other side of the table as their mother finished putting a bandage on her hand. She had to wrap it entirely to keep her fingers from moving. Eleonore said there was a suspicion that they could be broken.

"You can take me in as a daughter?" she asked skeptically.

"Of course. We have no law against it. You are hurt and you need a home."

"Well…thank you…" she muttered, slightly embarrassed.

"Armin, we must think of a name for her," Eleonore said with a sweet smile.

"How about Heiden?" he asked, giggling with his brother.

"ARMIN!" she said angrily. She scolded to him in German and after she looked back at the girl he continued to giggle with Diedrich.

Eleonore set the rag into the bowl and grabbed the girl's arm. "We must find you some clothes to wear. Come with me. Armin —" She continued the order in German, and pointed at the bowl on the table. He gave a sweet smile to his mother and picked up the bowl, trotting out of the room with Diedrich at his heels.

"Now, I am not quite sure if any of my dresses will fit you. They will all be too big, I am sure…" Eleonore muttered to herself as she led the younger one through the house in a sort of makeshift tour.

"That's fine. It doesn't matter."

"Well it certainly does, I cannot have you wearing those for the rest of your life, can I?" Eleonore smiled. They walked into a medium sized bedroom.

"I'm not really fond of dresses, if you don't mind," she pointed out, trying not to be impolite. Eleonore stared at her for a moment.

"Well, that's rather unfortunate. Women are only allowed to wear dresses, it is the law. You would surely be arrested if you were found wearing pants. We are not allowed to have jobs, or dress as a man would. We stay inside the house."

"Well, pardon my habit of breaking the rules, but if you have no dresses that fit me I have no choice, then, do I?"

Eleonore gave sort of an admiring smile, then let it flick away.

"Besides, I need to be able to travel around everywhere to get as much information as I can to find out where I came from."

"ELEONORE!" A loud voice sounded as the door opened on the other side of the house.

"That is my husband. Come."

She grabbed the girl's hand that was not bandaged and walked at a steady pace towards the kitchen. She was sat at the table, and the elder woman hurried to the front door. There was lots of chattering in German, and after a stampede of tiny footsteps, she heard Armin and Diedrich rambling as well. The deepest voice, the one that had spoken as it opened the door, sounded interested, and soon, there were five individuals standing in the kitchen, staring at her. Eleonore whispered something to her husband and he nodded politely.

"You speak English?" he said slowly.

"Yes," she answered awkwardly.

"Well, new friends are always welcome in this house, welcome, welcome…" he looked at another boy. Much taller than Armin, most likely around her age.

"This is Adam, my eldest, and I am Alexander. Very pleased to hear you are staying with us." He gave her a big grin. He was very tall. Another few inches and his hair would brush the ceiling. He had a beard, not too bushy, not too thin, and glimmering eyes. She now saw the resemblance between his and Armin's. All of his sons had the same short dark hair. Diedrich had his mother's soft eyes. They seemed like a perfect family, and she couldn't help but smile as Adam gave her a polite half nod half bow. Eleonore muttered something to Alexander and he nodded, made a motion with his hands and everyone sat around the table.

"My wife tells me, you do not remember where you are from?"

"No. I don't remember my name either."

"Did you try to find her some clothes?" he asked quickly to Eleonore.

"Yes. But she went on about not wanting to wear a dress. I explained that women must wear dresses here, as we are only meant to buy the food and stay in the houses as well."

"But that's no good for me. If I'm going to find out who I am, I need to be able to move freely about. If I'm restricted to just one house, how am I supposed to do anything?"

Diedrich said something loudly and everyone stared at him. Armin had been translating the conversation as quickly as he could to him. And with this, the seven-year-old piped up an idea. His family stared almost in disbelief at the young one, and a small red tint appeared at his ears as he apparently realized he should not have said it.

"What did he say?" she asked after the long silence.

"Diedrich says…we should dress you as a boy then," Armin said slowly, noting the scolding gaze his parents gave him.

"Well that sounds quite reasonable, actually," she said, pondering.

"You do not understand. If you are found out they will surely arrest you, and us all in turn!" Eleonore warned.

"I don't want to put your family in danger at all. I could just disguise myself, and then I'll leave. They'll never know I was with you, and you'll have helped me enough, and you won't get in trouble!"

"But if you were caught we'd never forgive ourselves," Alexander put in gently.

She sighed deeply and rubbed her eyes softly. They were still tired and itchy, and for some reason she wished she was back on the hill under the tree sleeping.

"Father," Adam said quietly. It was the first time he had spoken since he had entered the house.

"Ja." His father turned to him.

"God would never leave a sister, nor brother, behind. If we are meant to help this girl, why not do as she wishes? If it is our help she needs, why can we not give it to her?"

"Adam."

"She can borrow my extra clothes and be off. The less time she spends with us, the less likely it is that we will be connected to her if she is arrested. Can we not do as she asks?"

Alexander looked at his wife, who stared exasperatedly back. There was a long silence and Armin stared expectantly at his father.

"Very well."

Armin and Diedrich cheered loudly and Adam thanked his father. Eleonore sighed and nodded to herself as Alexander grabbed her hand. He reassured her quietly and Adam grabbed the girl's hand.

"Come."

She hesitated and then obliged as she was pulled to her feel gently and led back into Adam's room. He pulled clothes from the drawers, a pair of boots from beside the door. This took about two minutes and he did everything with as little noise and bustling as possible, with almost unnatural calmness.

"With those clothes, I would not be surprised if you've already been noticed. My clothes will be the only ones that might fit properly. They will most likely be a bit large, however."

"That's fine, I was never one who liked proper fitting clothes. I prefer them larger."

"I see. Well, here's a shirt, vest, pants, and my spare boots. If you need anything else, feel free to ask."

"Thank you," she said with a sort of embarrassed smile. They stared at each other for a moment. He nodded, half to himself, looked at the floor, and then reached for the door to let her dress herself.

"Adam," she said suddenly. He halted, his hand placed on the side of the door.

"Ja?" he asked gently.

"Why were you the only one who agreed to help me?"

He gave her a simple look. "Because of the way I am. I have grown to believe strange things, and if your arrival here hadn't been as strange as those other things, I wouldn't have bothered."

She quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

He took in a deep silent breath, look back out into the kitchen across the house and then shrugged, beginning to shut the door to let her get ready. She stopped him again.

"You're not the same as them, you mean," she concluded. He stopped like he had been hit with something. Glancing around once again, he stepped back into the room and shut the door.

"No, I am not."

"What's so different about you?"

He thought for a moment, then went to one of his drawers and pulled out a plain, half worn out deck of cards. They were a faded yellow, very old fashioned, and had obviously been handled a million times before. He sat down on the bed next to her and handed her the top card.

"Okay," she said skeptically, "Now what?"

"It's the ace of diamonds, correct?"

"Yeah, so what?"

He sighed, put the card in the deck, shuffled it twice and then handed her the top card again. After a pause, he said quietly, "The ten of hearts?"

"Yeah. What's the point?"

"I can guess every card you pick out of this deck every time without fail, I promise you."

"It's a magician's trick, so what? How does that make you different? Lots of people can be magicians."

"But I am not," he insisted.

"Then how can you guess the card?" she asked dully. She was clearly not understanding whatever it was he was trying to imply. He sighed to himself, held the deck in one hand and held out his index and middle finger together. He lightly set it on the center of her forehead. She looked up, and then back at him without a word.

"I can hear your thoughts, as though you are speaking to me."

She stared, feeling the warmth of his fingers on her forehead. "How?"

"I do not know. I knew you needed help, because your thoughts were different from everyone else's. When they speak, they say something when their mind says another. When you speak, you are honest. Your mind never says one thing while you speak another. You are truly confused, and you need my help to get home."

"You're very sure of yourself, did you know that?" she asked sarcastically. He laughed and then dropped his hand into his lap.

"That's why I like you. You don't lie, like everyone else."

"Lie?" she asked. He stood up and set the deck of cards back into his drawer.

"When people tell you, you are a good person, or tell you they love you. You can never see if they are telling the truth. It is a fickle thing, trust. You can trust a person with all your heart, but never truly know if they are honest. When you can hear what they really mean, it's hard to trust certain people. When I listen to your thoughts, they are no different from the words you speak out loud." He looked at her and smiled as he opened the door to leave.

"I like that."

He shut the door and she sat on the bed silently, staring at her lap, then at the floor. She picked up the shirt that Adam had handed her and held it in her hands, pondering.

_("When I listen to your thoughts, they are no different from the words you speak out loud.")_

She took in a quiet breath. It was true, she suspected. She never did say anything than what she actually thought. She hadn't told one lie to Eleonore or her family. She _was_ confused and she _didn't_ know what to do. If Adam trusted her that much, and he truly wanted to help, maybe they actually _could._

"Adam!" she heard faintly. She heard footsteps across the house on the other side of the door and a long quick series of German chatter. Adam's voice replied with a note of "Ja" several times, and then suddenly she heard the front door close loudly, and she suddenly got the impression she had been left alone, until she heard faint footsteps again. The bedroom door opened and Adam came in holding what appeared to be long strips of bandages, but was actually just one very long strand.

"Where did they go?" she asked.

"I have already attended the church today, but they have not. I was told to stay here and watch over you."

"And what's that for?" she asked, pointing with her uninjured hand at what he was holding. He seemed to have blushed for a moment, but she could have been fooling herself. He seemed to ramble something off to himself in German for a long second, then he shook his head.

"That's not fair, you know. I can't understand what you're saying."

"It may be for the better," he said quietly. "These are — for you to put around your chest. My mother said it would give you a greater chance of appearing as a boy my age."

She stared at him for a moment. "OH."

It took her a moment, but she understood him. He seemed to be slightly uncomfortable at the idea. They were both silent for a second before they both broke into a laughter that released the awkward tension that seemed to be settling.

"I don't wish to seem awkward," he insisted, "But my mother is gone, and she told me I might need to help you with this."

A small pause.

"No, it's fine, it's fine," she said quickly, with another laugh, "I don't mind at all."

He cleared his throat oddly. "Well, then, I will go — let you change into everything else, I suppose. If you do need my assistance, I will come back."

"Thanks."

He nodded and left the bandage on the bed next to the pants and vest. As soon as he left she started to change. The pants were just barely right, a little bigger than her size, but they fit nicely. She started pulling on the boots, and found that they fit her feet nicely as well. Just before she was about to call Adam, he came through the door and she jumped.

"Jeez," she said, her heart settling down.

"Forgive me, I have a habit of hearing some one's thoughts when they need me. I usually come to them before they have to call."

"Right. Um…I might need some help with this," she said slowly.

"Right. Well, then I um…"

Another awkward silence. She nodded suddenly and though "Duh" to herself. He grabbed the bandage and she sat with her back facing him, taking off her shirt slowly. Her shoulders were sore and her hand buzzed lightly as the sleeve went over it. She set her jacket and her shirt next to her worn out pants and shoes. She felt the bed move slightly as Adam sat behind her. He tied the closest end flat around the bottom of her stomach and began to wrap it up her chest. She would grab it from the front and hand it behind her to him while he worked. They didn't really speak, except when after two minutes he touched the middle of her back unexpectedly. She jerked forward without warning and he jumped.

"Sorry!" he said.

"What was that for?" she asked curiously.

"You have a mark on your back."

"A mark? Like what, a scar?"

"I suppose. It goes almost all the way to your shoulders."

"It does?"

"Give me your hand."

She cocked an eyebrow, confused, but put her hand over her shoulder. He grasped it gently and followed her fingertips down to the middle of her shoulder blades. He did it so slowly she felt like time had stopped, and suddenly, she felt like she wasn't even there.

She was sitting in the dark, barely able to see. There was a hand on hers, guiding her fingertips to something on her back.

"_Feel that?"_ she heard. It echoed, as if spoken by two people.

"_Yeah…"_ she answered, hearing the same echo. It was like two people said the same thing at the same moment, but with the same voice. It sounded like hers. She became more aware of the hand grasping hers, as she felt a remnant, not necessarily a full on jolt, but a remnant of a snapping zap of pain.

It came from the back of her neck, and spread over her back. She clamped her eyes shut and clenched her teeth, jerking her hand and digging her nails into her flesh right at the top of where her spine was.

"_Kari —"_ she heard loudly. It sounded like some one had stuck a speaker into her ear and screamed into it.

There was a loud rushing noise and she opened her eyes. Her arm was behind her neck, grasped tightly by another fist. She turned her head to look over her shoulder and saw Adam staring at her, surprised and confused.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Did you just —" she cut herself off.

That touch on her hand, and her back was so familiar. Why? What was she remembering? A dream? Who was speaking? Her? Adam? Or another person? She swore another voice had spoken, but she didn't remember exactly who it was. Did she even know before? Was it a false memory? Why was it dark? Who had grabbed her hand? Adam, or that mysterious other person? Would she be able to find out? And who was Kari? Was that her? Was that her name?

"You have a very busy mind," Adam said astonished, sounding like he was dizzy.

"What?"

"I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" he asked instead.

"No. No, you didn't. I'm okay."

"Very well. Hand me that, then, would you?"

She nodded to herself, rubbed her neck and handed him the end of the bandage. She remembered the pain she had felt in her neck. She remembered it very clearly, so clearly she could swear it was there again.

Or was it?

She put her hand over her neck again. Just as she did, the jolt came back, the same pattern spread all down her spine and through her nerves. She grimaced again, and Adam halted once more. Once she felt a sharp zapping, like some one had scraped her back with sandpaper, Adam suddenly shouted out, and she heard him hit the floor. Apparently he had fallen backwards off the bed.

Stammering frantically in another language, he scrambled to his feet and threw open the door, bolting across the house. She was confused, wondering what the cause of his reaction was, until she felt cold air on her back like she hadn't before. It stung, and she didn't know why. She shuddered, feeling her back like it was sore from a bad fall. Adam's footsteps were heard pounding past the door to the other side of the house, his voice still muttering something quickly in German.

She felt her back itch from the stinging the air caused, and she scratched her shoulder irritably, regretting it soon because it made the pain worsen. She dropped her hand into her lap, and froze. There was blood on her fingertips. She already felt a scream welling up in her chest.

"Adam!" she yelled.

"Keine Angst! Keine Angst! I'm coming!" he said as he ran into the room.

"Why am I bleeding, what happened?!"

"I do not know, calm down, I'm going to bandage it."

"Well, this bandage I'm wearing NOW seems useful, doesn't it?" she asked frantically.

"Please don't be angry at me," he begged.

"What, did you make my back bleed?" she shot back.

"Nein, nein, it started bleeding on its own."

"What do you mean it started bleeding on its own, are you crazy? How could it do that?"

"You ask me that question when you know I do not have the answer. Why?"

"Because I'm PANICKING?!" she answered, frustrated.

"Then do not panic."

"Easy for you to say."

"I think it has stopped."

This whole argument, which was about two minutes long, was spent with Adam wiping blood from her shoulders with a wet cloth, and somehow the bleeding seemed to have stopped. He dropped the rag onto the bed, settling himself on his knees, staring at her back. Neither of them knew what to say. After a long pause, he declared he would grab another bandage strip and put it over the first one.

Ten minutes later her torso was wrapped from her stomach to her collarbone. She was standing next to the door, fixing a belt around the pants she was wearing while Adam checked over her back again.

"I do not see any more blood. I think you are okay."

"Will it start again?"

"Again, why do you ask me that when you know I do not have the answer?"

"You're frustrating, you know that?" she snapped as he walked around her to hand her the shirt he had put on the bed. She felt him tap the top of her head with two fingers.

"Yes, I do."

She nodded to herself with an "Oh, right" tone to it.

"Can't put anything past you."

"I admit it would be difficult," he answered.

"Help me with this, would you?" she asked. It hurt to move her arms now, seeing as it shifted her back too much. Adam helped her arm through one sleeve and then gently helped the other through. After he had buttoned it up to her neck, he helped put her arms through the vest. Finally, he straightened the bottom of the vest and buttoned the edge of the sleeves at her wrists. He took a step back and she watched an odd smile creep over his features.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were a boy my age who never cut his hair in his life."

"Glad to hear it," she snickered.

"My family will be home later. My mother will cut your hair after come back. Would you like something to eat?" he offered.

"Sure, I'm starving," she admitted. She hadn't realized it until now, either, but as soon as he mentioned food she felt her stomach twist violently.

"We have an apple tree behind the house. Come, we can sit outside."

He took her hand politely and led her out the back door of the house into the sunlight. She blinked several times before she met the shade of a tall green tree. Adam reached up and snatched two apples from the lowest branch and handed her one. "We have the best in our town, everyone says."

"I wouldn't doubt it," she agreed. The tree looked like something out of a fairytale. Tall as could be with numerous apples speckled through the leaves. She sank her teeth into the fruit and was immediately greeted with the sweetest taste she could remember.

"Adam?" she asked after a while. They had sat down under the tree and she was finishing her second apple with delight. Where they sat was safe from sight, so none of the neighbors near could see her.

"Ja," he said quietly. His hands were crossed along his stomach and he looked like he was asleep.

"Have you ever met anyone like me before?"

"Don't you mean have I ever met anyone like _me_ before?"

"Well, I guess so. That would be more along the lines of a better question, I suppose."

"I have never met anyone unlike my family. Anyone more than normal."

"So no one with your — ability?"

"If you have decided to call it that."

"So that's a no?"

"Correct. No one I have ever met knows that I can hear their thoughts, either. I prefer to be amused by the idea that they think they're tricking me, when I can tell that they are."

"I think that would be amusing, yeah."

"But I have never told anyone I can hear their thoughts, and I have never met anyone else that could."

"So you're the only one."

"In a manner."

"Hm."

There was a long silence filled by the breeze moving through the apple tree. Adam's breathing was somewhat soothing to her state of mind. After a pause, he turned his head. "Have you ever met a person like me?"

She thought for a moment.

"Not that I recall."


	60. Edward

Part 58 - Edward

"Adam?"

"Hm."

"Do you think I'm like you at all?"

The boy turned his eyes up to her. She was now leaning against the tree and he was lying on his back in the bright grass, hands crossed over his chest. He blinked as he watched her.

"I could not say," he answered. She shifted her eyes back to the grass around him, swiftly drifting left and right like green water.

"If I couldn't remember anything about my past, would you be able to hear it in my head? Like from my subconscious or something?"

"Subconscious?" he repeated.

"My hidden mind?" she tried to reword it.

"I am not sure. Again, I could not say. When you say 'hidden mind', I imagine that is what I usually hear, because when people speak, and their mind says something other than what they speak, maybe that is what you mean?"

"Kind of, I guess," she said slightly.

"All I can hear from your mind is that you are confused, and it makes you angry. And that you miss someone."

Her eyes flickered for moment and then she raised an eyebrow, and looked down at him sarcastically.

"I 'miss' someone?"

"Yes. That voice that you hear before in the bedroom. It was someone you miss. I suggest it is someone you love, and maybe you must find them in order to remember what you need to."

"That's logical, I guess," she agreed after a while, "But for now, I'm fine."

He looked up at her, mimicking her sarcastic gaze that she had just shot at him. He smiled and shut his eyes, leaning his head back onto the grass.

"Fine, she says," he muttered.

_("I am.")_

She snapped her eyes open.

_("We should try the Oval Office.")_

"What —"

_("Kurt, grab him!")_

Adam looked up at her, eyes now concerned.

"Kurt?" he repeated. She looked down at him, suddenly forgetting that he knew what she was thinking. She blinked and rubbed her eyes roughly, groaning.

"Argh. I hope this isn't going to happen a lot," she grumbled.

"Not to seem prying, but if you're trying to remember who you are, would you not want it to keep happening?"

She glared at him, her mouth turned up stubbornly.

"Forgive me," he added.

"It's bothersome," she explained.

"Who is Kurt?" he asked innocently.

She shrugged. "I'm not sure yet."

"Adam!"

The two of them looked towards the back door of the small house. More time had passed than she had anticipated. Adam's family was back from church, and his mother seemed more cheerful than when she had left. The eldest son got to his feet calmly and gently helped her up. This simple gesture almost made her want to smile as he carefully managed not to hurt her injured hand, making sure to instead grip just above her wrist.

They strode into the house, leaving the warm sun to be in the shaded confines of the kitchen, where the family all sat down together once more. She glanced around, slightly surprised at their intense involvement with each other. Armin and Diedrich were laughing with each other and Adam chatted quickly with his parents in long strands of German while she sat quietly.

"Mother says we will cut your hair in a while, and you can stay for the night, but tomorrow, we must ask you to leave," Adam explained after another few minutes, telling it with a distressed tone.

"Oh, that's fine," she insisted, "No offense to your family, but the sooner I'm gone, the better. I don't want to cause any trouble."

"Thank you," his father said gratefully.

"I appreciate everything you've done already, I don't ask for anything else at all, really," she added.

"Good. Then come, and I will cut your hair for you," his mother said, smiling.

She stood up and followed the older woman, helping her to carry a large bowl, a thin towel, a brush and some large scissors from another room, and when they returned to the kitchen, Adam and his father had disappeared, and Armin and Diedrich had wandered into the backyard to play. As she sat at the table, Eleonore spread the towel around her neck and left momentarily to fill the large bowl with water.

After wetting her hair as much as possible, and removing the odd tie that held her hair into the messy ponytail that it was, Eleonore spent a fair share of time trying as painlessly as she could to untangle the long dark strands. It took nearly an hour as she worked to cut it all. At the end, Adam's mother grabbed a broom after shaking the towel into the bowl of water and giving her permission to stand up. As she swept the girl's long hair from the floor, the teenager rose and rubbed her uninjured fingers over the short hair on her head. It was soft, and her neck was cold.

"Thank you," she said awkwardly, not sure if she should thank her for the haircut, but simply for doing such a deed to help her.

"You look like Adam," the elder said with a smile. Again, she took this awkwardly, but as a gesture of good news.

She was then instructed to go play in the backyard with the younger ones as the sunset and their mother prepared dinner for the family plus one. By the time it was dark, Adam and his father had still not returned from wherever they had gone. As she ran with the two sons in the grass, thinking of names to call her now that she was officially "one of the boys", she felt the first calm of that day, rather than simple frustrated confusion and awkwardness.

Eleonore stood in the frame of the back door for a minute before calling them back inside. As she rallied up the two boys, they ran screaming into the kitchen.

"Edward! Edward!" they shouted happily.

"Edward?" their mother repeated.

"She is Edward!" Armin pointed, laughing. The girl smiled and the woman sighed oddly.

"How strange to be calling a girl Edward. Well, if it must be, then welcome, Edward," she added the last part with large emphasis that made Diedrich giggle.

"Where's Adam?" she asked curiously as they seated themselves.

"They will be home soon, I suppose. I told them they needed to return by sunset."

As "Edward" looked outside the window, she gladly saw just that. Adam and his father were strolling through the gate that led into the yard behind the house.

* * *

The night brought nothing but unstoppable thoughts in her head as she laid on Adam's bed. He slept on the floor lightly, causing her semi-guilt, but she curled under the bed sheets silently and stared at the wall, unable to close her eyes.

Everything about where she was seemed too strange to her. It was too — old. She hated imagining it as that, but she wasn't sure how else to put it. She felt alone around them, but still calmer than she probably would have if Armin had not found her.

She absentmindedly sat up and stared at the wall in front of her wondrously, then let her eyes wander down to Adam, who to her surprise, was lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

"Adam?" she asked softly.

"I do not sleep," he answered immediately. When she had half a mind to ask why, he had already explained, "The voices never stop talking. It is louder when people dream, so I cannot sleep."

She nodded lightly to herself and watched him almost sadly. A dreadful silence passed over the dark of the room and she moved her gaze over his face again for a long while. Then, her heart jolted as he broke the quiet.

"I want to come with you," he whispered, turning his eyes to hers.


	61. Adam's Choice

Part 59 - Adam's Choice

She gaped in the dark, her mouth open slightly, unsure of what to say. He only stared back in a pleading manner.

"What?" she managed to choke.

"I want to come with you, wherever you are going," he repeated slowly, not moving his eyes from her face.

"But — you can't. You live here, I don't even know where I'm from, or _where_ I'm suppose to go, how are you supposed to come with me?"

"I don't care, I want to go," he insisted.

"But you can't!"

"Why?"

"Because, you belong here, with your family! What if I — I don't even know. You just can't come with me!"

"But I want to," he continued, his voice soft and persistent, hers steadily growing fearful.

"Adam," she groaned, covering her eyes in exhaustion. The bed shifted and she moved her fingers, jumping as she saw him right in front of her.

"Let me come with you," he begged quietly, "Do not misunderstand. I love my family very much. But I am afraid for them, that if it is discovered that I know what they are thinking at all times, something terrible may happen to them. I do not belong here with them if I will only bring them danger. Please, let me come. I want to help you."

She continued to stare. Something about his eyes was making her lightheaded as something pushed its way back into her memory. She tried to pull it along to help it surface, but it was simply gone again, and she was back in the dark.

"Please," he breathed.

She was absolutely unsure of how to answer. She had neither the right to accept nor decline his request. She was only afraid of what might happen to him if he did come. In her eyes, it was better for him to stay, although he was obviously thinking differently. But she also didn't want to think about the family's reaction to his departure. What would they think of a girl showing up out of nowhere in strange clothes running away with their eldest son?

She sighed a long breath. "Adam, I don't know what's going to happen if —"

"I want to help you," he insisted pleadingly, grabbing her hands tightly, "You are the only honest person I have ever known."

Suddenly, she forgot to blink. The pressure in her mind was forming again as something tried to surface.

_("Let's get Kitty and Rogue, and we all go to breakfast.")_

She watched his pupils move back and forth between her eyes.

_("Too tired to get up.")_

Her hands were warm, and Adam's eyes changed briefly, as did his face entirely, for a split second, and the next thing she knew, her heart was pounding behind her ribs.

"John."

Her whole body jerked and she snapped her eyes wide on Adam.

"What?" she whispered.

"John. Is that his name? The boy you are remembering?"

She didn't move.

"How do you know that?" she questioned. He actually looked slightly stunned.

"I'm not sure," he answered finally, "There was a voice in your mind just now, and you screamed at it."

"I screamed at it?" She looked confused.

"Yes. You wanted him to tell you something, and he was refusing you, so you screamed."

She continued to stare, utterly perplexed at the idea.

"Please, let me go with you," Adam pressed further. She blinked and covered her eyes with her hand, sighing and moving her fingers to her forehead.

"Look, I don't know what might happen to you! All of this stuff that's happening is starting to freak me out a little bit, and I don't want it to get worse! If it does, and you're there, you might get caught up in it and something bad could happen!"

She noticed he was glaring.

"I am going with you," he said firmly.

"No you're NOT," she countered in the same tone.

"Adam, I'm not asking you, I'm _telling_ you. You're not coming with me, and that's final."

"How are you going to get to where you want without me?" he asked in a matter-of-fact tone. She stared at him, trying to figure out what he was getting at. "I know the towns around here better than you do, and no one else will be as willing to help."

The ringing of the silence between them after he finished made her want to dig her fingers into her ears.

"I will go to my family in the morning and tell them I am to take you to the next town over," he said simply, "I will continue to help you from there. They will not expect me home for a long while, and there will be little need for me to return for a long while. It is not as complicated as you are trying to make it."

It wasn't that she wanted to make it complicated, she realized. She was afraid of what might happen altogether, and not only that, but what might happen to him if he was caught in the middle of whatever it was.

"Fine," she muttered, staring at her hands in the dark. Her mind lingered on this "John" he had mentioned. The name seemed so familiar, but no face or memory came to her when she tried to focus on it. It was like it was dancing on the end of her tongue, and she couldn't look down.

"I don't even know where to start," she whispered, rubbing her exhausted eyes.

"That's the beauty of it, isn't it?" Adam asked.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" she asked curiously.

"It's more enjoyable than what happens here every single day. Considering who I am, I would like to make more of myself. Does that make sense?"

She supposed she could understand, and didn't blame him in the slightest. Without another word, she flopped back onto the cold bed and tried to close her eyes.


	62. Displacement

Part 60 - Displacement

"As unexpected as that was," Richardson said, clearing his throat and straightening his coat, "I can say I'm not entirely surprised. How did you find your way back?"

"It was a bit difficult to navigate," the other man nearly growled, "But I suppose when one is determined enough."

"Erik, I never intended to send you back with the others," Richardson assure, giving him a coy smile and stepping back from the other man, who glared at him intently. "Our goals are hardly different from each other's, and I would prefer your support, rather than your protest."

"Explain yourself."

The other man paced in the demolished room thoughtful, and then with a curious twitch of his face, the rubble below their feet began to move. Magneto looked down and saw that everything was skittering in odd directions, and _backwards_.

"I sent your remaining kind back in time simply to displace them, but in that moment, something hadn't occurred to me. Displacing them could alter history in an _undesirable_ way."

"A time traveller like you? That should have been the _first_ thing you thought of," Magneto scoffed.

"Heat of the moment, my apologies. As I was saying, history might alter in a way I didn't exactly anticipate, and in order to alter it the way I _do_ desire, I need to bring them back."

"Bring them back? Why not just kill them?" Magneto asked immediately. Richardson raised his eyebrows.

"So quick to condemn your own kin, are you?"

"I'm only trying to think from your perspective," Magneto assured.

"Indeed."

The rubble beneath them shifted further, and Magneto moved to dodge some of it. It moved slowly enough to avoid easily, but it was a distracting pain.

"I need to bring them back, and _then_ kill them. Considering what I've known of them, they are meddlesome, and may alter things unintentionally. You, however, I could still use, if you are willing to offer your services. I would much rather have your assistance in this matter than kill you. And believe me when I say I will not offer this a second time."

Magneto stared as the room repaired itself slowly and the other man stared at him calmly, waiting for an answer.

"You've destroyed the Brotherhood. Why?"

"They were insignificant."

"But if they were to follow me, and I followed you, what's there to be insignificant?"

"I understand your point," Richardson nodded, "But believe me, I'd rather not change their fate now."

"You changed mine."

"You're a man of principle, Erik. A very intelligent man of principle, it would be a shame to destroy you."

Magneto blinked and was unsure of how to answer. He watched the room, narrowed his eyes, and then took in a slow breath.

"You bring the Brotherhood back, and I'll add to your cause."

Richardson frowned, but rubbed his chin, looking around. "The X-Men?"

"I couldn't care less about them." Magneto narrowed his eyes.

"Your choice. Very well, and I assure you, your choice is well made."

The room around them continued to piece back together, and the air around them grew hazy from the dust of past explosions.


End file.
